HTLF Bank Invests $3.37 Million in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

HTLF Bank bought a new stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund bought 19,853 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,372,000.

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

PepsiCo Stock Performance

PEP stock traded up $0.15 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $172.42. The company had a trading volume of 1,902,014 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,671,958. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $168.55 and a 200 day moving average price of $167.42. PepsiCo, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $155.83 and a fifty-two week high of $196.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $236.99 billion, a PE ratio of 26.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.53.

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

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st were given a dividend of $1.265 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $5.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.93%. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is presently 77.02%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on PEP shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on PepsiCo from $181.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Argus lowered PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Barclays lifted their target price on PepsiCo from $183.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Citigroup raised PepsiCo from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $180.00 to $195.00 in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, PepsiCo presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $186.92.

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.