LGT Capital Partners LTD. Purchases 2,977 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

LGT Capital Partners LTD. increased its position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 4.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 77,398 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,977 shares during the period. LGT Capital Partners LTD.’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $11,769,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Argentarii LLC bought a new position in PepsiCo in the 4th quarter worth $1,210,000. Jackson Hole Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in PepsiCo by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Jackson Hole Capital Partners LLC now owns 36,725 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,584,000 after purchasing an additional 344 shares in the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in PepsiCo in the 4th quarter worth $435,000. Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI raised its position in shares of PepsiCo by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI now owns 12,157 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,849,000 after buying an additional 602 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi raised its position in shares of PepsiCo by 12.0% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 9,278,801 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,360,972,000 after buying an additional 996,351 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

PepsiCo Price Performance

NASDAQ PEP opened at $154.44 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.82. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $148.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $160.86. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 52-week low of $141.51 and a 52-week high of $183.41. The company has a market cap of $211.81 billion, a PE ratio of 22.22, 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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.02. PepsiCo had a net margin of 10.43% and a return on equity of 58.87%. The company had revenue of $27.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $27.89 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.78 earnings per share. PepsiCo’s revenue for the quarter was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast 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 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 of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.51%. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is 77.99%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on PEP shares. 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 research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $153.00 to $168.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. 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 research report on Thursday, January 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $183.00 to $165.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $195.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, PepsiCo presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $172.35.

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.