Wilkinson Global Asset Management LLC Acquires Shares of 1,300 PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Wilkinson Global Asset Management LLC bought a new position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm bought 1,300 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $214,000.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in PepsiCo during the 4th quarter worth $2,686,139,000. Flossbach Von Storch AG increased its position in shares of PepsiCo by 67.2% during the first quarter. Flossbach Von Storch AG now owns 4,560,007 shares of the company’s stock worth $798,047,000 after acquiring an additional 1,832,385 shares during the last quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 125.2% in the second quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,740,573 shares of the company’s stock worth $452,003,000 after acquiring an additional 1,523,631 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in PepsiCo by 17.7% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,954,951 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,520,909,000 after purchasing an additional 1,345,065 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in PepsiCo by 429.3% during the 1st quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,454,793 shares of the company’s stock valued at $254,603,000 after purchasing an additional 1,179,922 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

PEP stock traded down $0.60 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $177.34. The company had a trading volume of 6,395,276 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,471,998. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $170.96 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $171.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $243.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87. PepsiCo, Inc. has a one year low of $155.83 and a one year high of $183.41.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 11th. The company reported $2.28 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $22.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.59 billion. PepsiCo had a net margin of 10.34% and a return on equity of 57.37%. PepsiCo’s quarterly revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.09 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.15 EPS for the current year.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be paid a $1.355 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 6th. This represents a $5.42 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.06%. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is 78.66%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on PEP. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on PepsiCo from $184.00 to $182.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 12th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of PepsiCo from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, BNP Paribas assumed coverage on PepsiCo in a report on Monday, June 24th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $174.00 price objective for the company. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $185.53.

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.