Generali Investments Management Co LLC Makes New Investment in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Generali Investments Management Co LLC purchased a new position in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 13,558 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,062,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Collier Financial bought a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Human Investing LLC bought a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. Institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PEP has been the subject of several research analyst reports. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $193.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. BNP Paribas reduced their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $162.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $171.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $185.00 to $168.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $184.00 to $178.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $169.88.

PepsiCo Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PEP opened at $148.99 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $148.94 and its 200 day moving average is $159.58. 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 company has a market capitalization of $204.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.52. PepsiCo, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $141.51 and a fifty-two week high of $183.41.

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

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $1.355 dividend. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.64%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.99%.

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.