Cozad Asset Management Inc. Grows Holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Cozad Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 10.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 18,258 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,705 shares during the quarter. Cozad Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $2,776,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in PepsiCo in the fourth quarter worth about $589,307,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in PepsiCo by 18.1% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 25,217,043 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,834,504,000 after acquiring an additional 3,856,193 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its position in PepsiCo by 5.1% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 57,268,030 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,738,429,000 after acquiring an additional 2,775,679 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in PepsiCo by 21.1% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 13,021,316 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,293,049,000 after acquiring an additional 2,264,445 shares during the period. Finally, Swedbank AB raised its position in PepsiCo by 211.4% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 2,345,467 shares of the company’s stock worth $398,847,000 after acquiring an additional 1,592,343 shares during the period. 73.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PEP has been the topic of several research reports. CICC Research reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of PepsiCo in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $184.00 to $178.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Barclays upped their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $153.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. BNP Paribas decreased their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $162.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $193.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $170.59.

PepsiCo Trading Up 0.2 %

NASDAQ:PEP opened at $148.59 on Monday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $148.76 and a 200-day moving average price of $159.89. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 12 month low of $141.51 and a 12 month high of $183.41. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05. The stock has a market cap of $203.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.38, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.52.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.02. PepsiCo had a net margin of 10.43% and a return on equity of 58.87%. The firm had revenue of $27.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $27.89 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.78 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 EPS for the current year.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $1.355 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.65%. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 77.99%.

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.