BLI Banque de Luxembourg Investments Takes Position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

BLI Banque de Luxembourg Investments purchased a new position in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm purchased 486,973 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $73,849,000. PepsiCo accounts for 2.0% of BLI Banque de Luxembourg Investments’ holdings, making the stock its 10th biggest holding.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of PEP. Collier Financial purchased a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in PepsiCo in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new stake in PepsiCo during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. 73.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

PepsiCo stock opened at $133.75 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. PepsiCo, Inc. has a one year low of $131.52 and a one year high of $183.41. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $145.94 and its 200 day moving average price is $152.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $183.38 billion, a PE ratio of 19.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.47.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.49 by ($0.01). PepsiCo had a net margin of 10.43% and a return on equity of 58.87%. The firm had revenue of $17.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.81 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.61 earnings per share. PepsiCo’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a $1.355 dividend. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.05%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is currently 79.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PEP has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. TD Cowen lowered their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $183.00 to $160.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Evercore ISI set a $140.00 price target on PepsiCo in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on PepsiCo from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on PepsiCo from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on PepsiCo from $143.00 to $135.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, PepsiCo presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $160.69.

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.