Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP - Free Report) by 3.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,754,155 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 128,355 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned about 0.27% of PepsiCo worth $562,898,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in PepsiCo by 12.4% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 59,392 shares of the company's stock worth $9,031,000 after purchasing an additional 6,574 shares during the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG boosted its stake in PepsiCo by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 470,387 shares of the company's stock worth $71,527,000 after buying an additional 11,538 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 36,193 shares of the company's stock worth $5,504,000 after acquiring an additional 996 shares in the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the 4th quarter worth approximately $70,000. Finally, GenTrust LLC boosted its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 6.3% in the 4th quarter. GenTrust LLC now owns 1,450 shares of the company's stock valued at $222,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

Shares of PEP opened at $131.04 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $131.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $143.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.13, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $179.67 billion, a PE ratio of 19.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.68 and a beta of 0.45. PepsiCo, Inc. has a one year low of $127.60 and a one year high of $180.91.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.49 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $17.92 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.81 billion. PepsiCo had a net margin of 10.24% and a return on equity of 58.28%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.61 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be given a $1.4225 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. This is an increase from PepsiCo's previous quarterly dividend of $1.36. This represents a $5.69 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.34%. PepsiCo's dividend payout ratio is currently 83.68%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PEP has been the subject of several recent research reports. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $155.00 to $150.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Evercore ISI set a $140.00 target price on PepsiCo in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Jefferies Financial Group cut PepsiCo from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $171.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on PepsiCo from $158.00 to $159.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $143.00 to $135.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, PepsiCo currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $159.75.

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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