Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. Acquires 24,410 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. lifted its position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 43.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 80,680 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 24,410 shares during the period. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co.’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $12,268,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in PepsiCo in the third quarter valued at $28,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 93.2% during the 3rd quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 199 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in PepsiCo during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, ORG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the 3rd quarter valued at $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on PEP shares. BNP Paribas decreased their price target on PepsiCo from $162.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on PepsiCo from $180.00 to $160.00 in a report on Tuesday. Barclays cut their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $183.00 to $158.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Royal Bank of Canada assumed coverage on PepsiCo in a research report on Tuesday. They set a $172.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Redburn Atlantic raised PepsiCo to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $174.53.

PepsiCo Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PEP opened at $143.49 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $152.86 and a 200 day moving average of $164.71. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96. PepsiCo, Inc. has a twelve month low of $141.51 and a twelve month high of $183.41. The firm has a market cap of $196.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.16, a PEG ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.54.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.02. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 57.32% and a net margin of 10.18%. The firm had revenue of $27.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $27.89 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.78 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th were paid a $1.355 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.78%. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is presently 79.94%.

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.