Rockland Trust Co. Buys 26,173 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Rockland Trust Co. increased its holdings in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP - Free Report) by 9.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 310,790 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 26,173 shares during the period. PepsiCo comprises 2.3% of Rockland Trust Co.'s portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest position. Rockland Trust Co.'s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $46,600,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of PEP. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the fourth quarter valued at $2,729,565,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 19,106.5% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,588,614 shares of the company's stock valued at $688,017,000 after purchasing an additional 4,564,723 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in PepsiCo in the fourth quarter worth approximately $589,307,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in PepsiCo by 18.1% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 25,217,043 shares of the company's stock worth $3,834,504,000 after buying an additional 3,856,193 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in PepsiCo by 106.1% during the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 3,514,965 shares of the company's stock valued at $527,034,000 after acquiring an additional 1,809,391 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.07% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on PEP. UBS Group reduced their price target on PepsiCo from $175.00 to $169.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $168.00 to $153.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $143.00 to $135.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded PepsiCo from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $171.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on PepsiCo from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $160.69.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PEP traded down $1.45 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $130.85. The company's stock had a trading volume of 9,578,363 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,668,925. The firm has a market capitalization of $179.41 billion, a PE ratio of 18.83, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.45. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $134.82 and a 200 day moving average of $145.42. PepsiCo, Inc. has a twelve month low of $127.75 and a twelve month high of $180.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.49 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $17.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.81 billion. PepsiCo had a net margin of 10.43% and a return on equity of 58.87%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.61 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be paid a dividend of $1.4225 per share. This is a boost from PepsiCo's previous quarterly dividend of $1.36. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $5.69 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.35%. PepsiCo's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 83.68%.

PepsiCo 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.