20,253 Shares in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) Bought by Mufg Securities Americas Inc.

Mufg Securities Americas Inc. bought a new position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 20,253 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,080,000.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Collier Financial purchased a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in PepsiCo during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of PepsiCo during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. bought a new position in PepsiCo in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. 73.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on PEP. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $143.00 to $135.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on PepsiCo from $184.00 to $178.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Citigroup decreased their price target on PepsiCo from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 25th. BNP Paribas cut their price objective 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. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $175.00 to $169.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, PepsiCo presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $160.69.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

NASDAQ PEP opened at $130.31 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $178.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.75, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.47. 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 52-week low of $129.75 and a 52-week high of $183.41. The company has a fifty day moving average of $142.80 and a 200-day moving average of $150.32.

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

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be paid a dividend of $1.4225 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. This is an increase from PepsiCo’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.36. This represents a $5.69 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.37%. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 83.68%.

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.