Franklin Resources Inc. Purchases 727,087 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 5.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,748,403 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 727,087 shares during the quarter. PepsiCo makes up approximately 0.6% of Franklin Resources Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest holding. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 1.00% of PepsiCo worth $2,090,582,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PEP. Family Legacy Inc. grew its position in shares of PepsiCo by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Family Legacy Inc. now owns 15,526 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,275,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG raised its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG now owns 605,412 shares of the company’s stock valued at $92,001,000 after acquiring an additional 8,354 shares in the last quarter. Boston Research & Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Boston Research & Management Inc. now owns 34,918 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,309,000 after purchasing an additional 710 shares in the last quarter. Summit Financial LLC increased its position in shares of PepsiCo by 41.5% in the fourth quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 26,110 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,997,000 after purchasing an additional 7,660 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in PepsiCo during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

PepsiCo Price Performance

Shares of PEP opened at $149.27 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $149.25 and a 200 day moving average of $157.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05. PepsiCo, Inc. has a twelve month low of $141.51 and a twelve month high of $183.41. The company has a market capitalization of $204.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.52.

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

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $1.355 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.63%. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.99%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on PEP. Citigroup reduced their target price on PepsiCo from $195.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Royal Bank of Canada initiated coverage on PepsiCo in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. They issued a $172.00 target price for the company. CICC Research reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on PepsiCo from $184.00 to $178.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, HSBC cut their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $186.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, PepsiCo has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $169.88.

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.