Flossbach Von Storch AG Boosts Stock Position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Flossbach Von Storch AG lifted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 121.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,727,622 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,495,586 shares during the period. PepsiCo comprises approximately 2.1% of Flossbach Von Storch AG’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Flossbach Von Storch AG’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $463,259,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in PepsiCo by 95,514.1% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 42,876,248 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,746,023,000 after acquiring an additional 42,831,405 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of PepsiCo during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,519,707,000. Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings in PepsiCo by 21.0% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 26,720,027 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,827,240,000 after buying an additional 4,629,947 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in PepsiCo by 9,623.6% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,058,061 shares of the company’s stock valued at $519,381,000 after buying an additional 3,026,611 shares in the last quarter. Finally, J.P. Morgan Private Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PepsiCo during the third quarter worth $329,179,000. Institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PEP has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on PepsiCo from $181.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $183.00 to $184.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $180.00 price target on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Monday, February 12th. Citigroup raised PepsiCo from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $180.00 to $195.00 in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on PepsiCo from $199.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $186.92.

PepsiCo Price Performance

NASDAQ PEP traded up $1.98 on Wednesday, reaching $169.48. 4,007,502 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,725,734. The stock has a market cap of $232.95 billion, a PE ratio of 25.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.68. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 12 month low of $155.83 and a 12 month high of $196.88. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $168.58 and a 200 day simple moving average of $167.38.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last released its earnings results on Friday, February 9th. The company reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.72 by $0.06. PepsiCo had a net margin of 9.92% and a return on equity of 58.03%. The company had revenue of $27.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $28.40 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.67 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.15 earnings per share for the current year.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st were paid a $1.265 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $5.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.99%. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 77.02%.

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.