World Equity Group Inc. Buys 1,279 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

World Equity Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 82.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,822 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,279 shares during the quarter. World Equity Group Inc.’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $429,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. AMF Tjanstepension AB lifted its position in PepsiCo by 15.8% during the 3rd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 293,824 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,016,000 after purchasing an additional 40,031 shares during the period. Swedbank AB lifted its position in PepsiCo by 211.4% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 2,345,467 shares of the company’s stock valued at $398,847,000 after purchasing an additional 1,592,343 shares during the period. Howard Capital Management Group LLC lifted its position in PepsiCo by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 4,568 shares of the company’s stock valued at $777,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. acquired a new position in PepsiCo during the 3rd quarter valued at about $215,000. Finally, Arkadios Wealth Advisors lifted its position in PepsiCo by 16.1% during the 3rd quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 15,365 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,613,000 after purchasing an additional 2,133 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on PEP. Royal Bank of Canada began coverage on shares of PepsiCo in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. They set a $172.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $195.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $158.00 to $153.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $180.00 to $160.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $171.47.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

Shares of PEP stock opened at $153.50 on Monday. 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 $210.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.54. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $148.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $162.11. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 52 week low of $141.51 and a 52 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 the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $27.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $27.89 billion. PepsiCo had a net margin of 10.43% and a return on equity of 58.87%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.78 EPS. On average, analysts expect that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $1.355 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.42 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.53%. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.99%.

PepsiCo Company 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.