PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) Shares Purchased by MetLife Investment Management LLC

MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 1.1% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 411,084 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,422 shares during the quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $62,509,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of PEP. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the fourth quarter worth about $2,729,565,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $589,307,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of PepsiCo by 18.1% during 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 buying an additional 3,856,193 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in PepsiCo by 21.1% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 13,021,316 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,293,049,000 after acquiring an additional 2,264,445 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in 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 buying an additional 1,376,133 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

Shares of PEP opened at $142.84 on Friday. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 12-month low of $138.33 and a 12-month high of $183.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $195.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.55, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.49. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $148.16 and its 200-day moving average is $154.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.65.

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

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a $1.355 dividend. This represents a $5.42 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.79%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is 77.99%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. UBS Group cut 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on PepsiCo from $183.00 to $165.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Barclays downgraded shares of PepsiCo from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $168.00 to $156.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $184.00 to $178.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the company from $171.00 to $170.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, PepsiCo has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $168.12.

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.