Vanguard Group Inc. Acquires 1,802,748 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. has raised its stake in PepsiCo by 1.4%, owning approximately 135 million shares valued at over $20 billion as of the latest SEC filing.
• PepsiCo declared a quarterly dividend of $1.4225 per share, representing an annualized dividend of $5.69 and a yield of 4.1%, with a payout ratio of 103.64%.
• Analysts anticipate PepsiCo will report earnings of $8.3 per share for the current fiscal year, with a consensus target price of $158.73 for the stock.

Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP - Free Report) by 1.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 135,174,252 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,802,748 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 9.86% of PepsiCo worth $20,268,027,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PEP. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in PepsiCo by 8.7% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 16,403,395 shares of the company's stock worth $2,494,300,000 after purchasing an additional 1,306,818 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in PepsiCo by 0.4% in 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 purchasing an additional 49,699 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position in PepsiCo by 7.4% during 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 purchasing an additional 831,148 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in PepsiCo by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 11,317,520 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,720,942,000 after buying an additional 416,537 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 9.3% during the first quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 10,878,718 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,631,155,000 after buying an additional 923,766 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.07% of the company's stock.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

PEP traded up $1.35 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $140.80. The company's stock had a trading volume of 6,746,011 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,650,565. PepsiCo, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $127.60 and a fifty-two week high of $179.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $192.77 billion, a PE ratio of 25.65, a PEG ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $134.99 and a 200 day simple moving average of $140.76. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The company reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.09. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 57.81% and a net margin of 8.23%. The firm had revenue of $22.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $22.28 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.28 EPS. PepsiCo's revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 EPS for the current year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th will be given a dividend of $1.4225 per share. 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 4.0%. PepsiCo's payout ratio is 103.64%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on PEP shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a "buy" rating on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Evercore ISI set a $140.00 target price on PepsiCo in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $153.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $140.00 to $154.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on PepsiCo from $160.00 to $168.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price 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.