LGT Group Foundation Boosts Stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Key Points

• LGT Group Foundation significantly increased its stake in PepsiCo by 279.4% in the first quarter, owning 308,576 shares worth approximately $46.27 million.
• In the same period, other institutional investors made notable moves, with Nuveen LLC investing nearly $947 million in PepsiCo and GAMMA Investing LLC raising its holdings by over 19,000%.
• PepsiCo recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.4225 per share, yielding an annualized rate of 3.9%, despite a dividend payout ratio of 103.64%.

LGT Group Foundation boosted its stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP - Free Report) by 279.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 308,576 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 227,242 shares during the quarter. LGT Group Foundation's holdings in PepsiCo were worth $46,268,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the 1st quarter worth $946,978,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 19,106.5% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,588,614 shares of the company's stock worth $688,017,000 after buying an additional 4,564,723 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 106.1% during the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 3,514,965 shares of the company's stock worth $527,034,000 after buying an additional 1,809,391 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in PepsiCo by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 135,174,252 shares of the company's stock valued at $20,268,027,000 after purchasing an additional 1,802,748 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new stake in PepsiCo in the 4th quarter valued at $221,297,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.07% of the company's stock.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

PEP opened at $144.87 on Tuesday. The business's 50 day moving average is $135.98 and its 200-day moving average is $140.57. The stock has a market cap of $198.34 billion, a PE ratio of 26.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12. PepsiCo, Inc. has a twelve month low of $127.60 and a twelve month high of $179.73.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 17th. The company reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.09. PepsiCo had a net margin of 8.23% and a return on equity of 57.81%. The business had revenue of $22.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.28 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.28 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current year.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th will be paid a $1.4225 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $5.69 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.9%. PepsiCo's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 103.64%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on PepsiCo from $150.00 to $139.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on PepsiCo from $153.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $148.00 target price on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Cowen restated a "hold" rating on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on PepsiCo from $175.00 to $169.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $158.73.

About PepsiCo

PepsiCo, Inc engages in the manufacture, marketing, distribution, and sale of various beverages and convenient foods worldwide. The company operates through seven segments: Frito-Lay North America; Quaker Foods North America; PepsiCo Beverages North America; Latin America; Europe; Africa, Middle East and South Asia; and Asia Pacific, Australia and New Zealand and China Region.

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