Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Buys 280,820 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP - Free Report) by 12.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,598,924 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 280,820 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned 0.19% of PepsiCo worth $389,683,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in PepsiCo by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 135,174,252 shares of the company's stock worth $20,268,027,000 after acquiring an additional 1,802,748 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 5.0% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 26,475,241 shares of the company's stock worth $3,969,698,000 after purchasing an additional 1,258,198 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in PepsiCo by 8.7% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 16,403,395 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,494,300,000 after purchasing an additional 1,306,818 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in PepsiCo by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 14,062,857 shares of the company's stock worth $2,108,585,000 after buying an additional 49,699 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 7.4% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 12,048,646 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,832,116,000 after buying an additional 831,148 shares during the period. 73.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

PepsiCo Stock Up 1.0%

PepsiCo stock opened at $140.80 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $192.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 0.45. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $134.99 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $140.76. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 1-year low of $127.60 and a 1-year high of $179.73. 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 (NASDAQ:PEP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The company reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $22.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $22.28 billion. PepsiCo had a net margin of 8.23% and a return on equity of 57.81%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.28 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th will be given a $1.4225 dividend. This represents a $5.69 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. PepsiCo's dividend payout ratio is presently 103.64%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on PEP shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $140.00 to $154.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $132.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $153.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Dbs Bank downgraded PepsiCo from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price objective on PepsiCo from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $158.73.

PepsiCo Company Profile

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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