Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Buys 1,809,391 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP - Free Report) by 106.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,514,965 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 1,809,391 shares during the period. PepsiCo comprises approximately 0.9% of Assenagon Asset Management S.A.'s holdings, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned approximately 0.26% of PepsiCo worth $527,034,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Collier Financial acquired a new stake in PepsiCo during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in PepsiCo during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC acquired a new stake in PepsiCo during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in PepsiCo during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. acquired a new stake in PepsiCo during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. 73.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PEP has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Dbs Bank cut PepsiCo from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Evercore ISI set a $140.00 price objective on PepsiCo in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Barclays decreased their price objective on PepsiCo from $143.00 to $135.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on PepsiCo from $168.00 to $153.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered PepsiCo from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $171.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. One equities research 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. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $160.69.

PepsiCo Stock Up 1.8%

Shares of PEP traded up $2.40 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $132.30. The stock had a trading volume of 11,432,993 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,648,128. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $134.82 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $145.42. PepsiCo, Inc. has a twelve month low of $127.75 and a twelve month high of $180.91. The firm has a market cap of $181.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.65.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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%. PepsiCo's revenue was down 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.61 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 EPS for the current year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th will be paid a $1.4225 dividend. This is a boost from PepsiCo's previous quarterly dividend of $1.36. This represents a $5.69 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. PepsiCo's payout ratio is 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.