New England Asset Management Inc. Buys 13,725 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

New England Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP - Free Report) by 120.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 25,112 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 13,725 shares during the quarter. New England Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $3,819,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the 4th quarter worth about $2,729,565,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in PepsiCo in the fourth quarter worth about $589,307,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of PepsiCo by 18.1% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 25,217,043 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,834,504,000 after acquiring an additional 3,856,193 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 133,371,504 shares of the company's stock worth $20,280,471,000 after purchasing an additional 1,376,133 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 360.0% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,697,742 shares of the company's stock worth $258,158,000 after purchasing an additional 1,328,672 shares during the period. 73.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

PepsiCo Trading Down 1.4%

PepsiCo stock traded down $1.86 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $128.45. The company had a trading volume of 10,452,154 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,342,287. The firm has a market cap of $176.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.48, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.47. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 12-month low of $127.90 and a 12-month high of $183.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $142.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $150.16.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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). PepsiCo had a net margin of 10.43% and a return on equity of 58.87%. The business had revenue of $17.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $17.81 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.61 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th will be given a dividend of $1.4225 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. This is a positive change from PepsiCo's previous quarterly dividend of $1.36. This represents a $5.69 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.43%. PepsiCo's payout ratio is currently 83.68%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on PEP shares. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded PepsiCo from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $171.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted 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. Evercore ISI set a $140.00 target price on shares of PepsiCo in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and issued a $163.00 price target on shares of PepsiCo in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, HSBC cut their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $186.00 to $170.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, PepsiCo currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $160.69.

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.