abrdn plc Has $235.10 Million Stock Position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

abrdn plc grew its stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP - Free Report) by 25.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,384,263 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 281,302 shares during the period. abrdn plc owned approximately 0.10% of PepsiCo worth $235,103,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Dupree Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $499,000. Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc. increased its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc. now owns 25,665 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,359,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares during the period. Vantage Investment Partners LLC grew its holdings in PepsiCo by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Vantage Investment Partners LLC now owns 75,932 shares of the company's stock worth $12,896,000 after acquiring an additional 944 shares during the period. Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in PepsiCo by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC now owns 49,402 shares of the company's stock worth $8,387,000 after acquiring an additional 312 shares during the period. Finally, J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in PepsiCo by 49.6% during the fourth quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 14,027 shares of the company's stock worth $2,382,000 after acquiring an additional 4,649 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.07% of the company's stock.

PepsiCo Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PEP traded up $1.86 on Friday, hitting $174.13. The company had a trading volume of 6,636,697 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,502,704. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 52-week low of $155.83 and a 52-week high of $196.88. The business has a 50 day moving average of $168.68 and a 200 day moving average of $167.45. The company has a market cap of $239.34 billion, a PE ratio of 26.50, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.53.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 9th. The company reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.72 by $0.06. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 58.03% and a net margin of 9.92%. The business had revenue of $27.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $28.40 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.67 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st were paid a dividend of $1.265 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $5.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.91%. PepsiCo's dividend payout ratio is presently 77.02%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on PEP. Morgan Stanley raised PepsiCo from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $190.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, March 18th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on PepsiCo from $199.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Citigroup raised PepsiCo from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $180.00 to $195.00 in a report on Monday, February 12th. Wedbush reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $195.00 price objective on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Friday, February 9th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on PepsiCo from $183.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $186.92.

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.