Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. Invests $47.90 Million in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. bought a new stake in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 315,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $47,899,000.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. BNP Paribas lowered their price target on PepsiCo from $162.00 to $160.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on PepsiCo from $184.00 to $178.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. HSBC lowered their price target on PepsiCo from $186.00 to $170.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Barclays decreased their target price on PepsiCo from $143.00 to $135.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Evercore ISI set a $140.00 target price on PepsiCo in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $160.69.

PepsiCo Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of PepsiCo stock traded up $0.48 during trading on Friday, hitting $131.98. 8,714,233 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,371,459. The firm has a market cap of $180.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 52-week low of $127.87 and a 52-week high of $182.96. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $141.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $149.66.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.48 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.49 by ($0.01). PepsiCo had a net margin of 10.43% and a return on equity of 58.87%. The firm 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 business posted $1.61 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be paid a dividend of $1.4225 per share. This is a positive change from PepsiCo's previous quarterly dividend of $1.36. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $5.69 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.31%. PepsiCo's payout ratio is presently 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.