PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) Shares Purchased by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 21.1% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 13,021,316 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,264,445 shares during the period. PepsiCo makes up 0.6% of Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 25th biggest position. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $2,293,049,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp grew its holdings in PepsiCo by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 422,080 shares of the company’s stock valued at $71,774,000 after buying an additional 4,768 shares during the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 5.5% during the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 125,965 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,421,000 after acquiring an additional 6,560 shares during the last quarter. Destination Wealth Management increased its position in PepsiCo by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Destination Wealth Management now owns 38,551 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,556,000 after purchasing an additional 711 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its stake in PepsiCo by 10.2% in the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 216,111 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,750,000 after purchasing an additional 20,029 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arvest Bank Trust Division acquired a new stake in shares of PepsiCo during the 3rd quarter worth about $311,000. 73.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PEP has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $186.00 to $183.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on PepsiCo from $185.00 to $183.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Morgan Stanley lowered PepsiCo from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $185.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on PepsiCo from $177.00 to $176.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of PepsiCo from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $179.00 to $184.00 in a research note on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $184.31.

PepsiCo Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of PEP stock opened at $158.90 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96. PepsiCo, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $155.85 and a fifty-two week high of $183.41. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $165.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $169.13. The stock has a market cap of $218.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.52.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 8th. The company reported $2.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.01. PepsiCo had a net margin of 10.18% and a return on equity of 57.32%. The firm had revenue of $23.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $23.86 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.25 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.15 EPS for the current year.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be issued a $1.355 dividend. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is presently 79.94%.

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.