Graham Capital Management L.P. Buys New Position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Graham Capital Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 119,244 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,132,000. PepsiCo accounts for approximately 0.3% of Graham Capital Management L.P.’s holdings, making the stock its 25th largest holding.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Collier Financial acquired a new position in PepsiCo in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PepsiCo during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of PepsiCo during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new position in PepsiCo in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PEP has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $155.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Evercore ISI set a $140.00 price objective on shares of PepsiCo in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. CICC Research reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of PepsiCo in a research report on Friday, February 7th. HSBC decreased their price target on PepsiCo from $186.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $171.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $160.69.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

Shares of PEP opened at $130.44 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $143.73 and a two-hundred day moving average of $151.04. The stock has a market cap of $178.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.77, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.47. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 12-month low of $130.16 and a 12-month high of $183.41. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05.

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

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th will be paid a $1.4225 dividend. This is an increase from PepsiCo’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.36. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $5.69 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.36%. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is presently 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.