Columbia Trust Co 01012016 Increases Stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Columbia Trust Co 01012016 raised its holdings in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 16.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,594 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,601 shares during the quarter. Columbia Trust Co 01012016’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $1,969,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. purchased a new stake in PepsiCo in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Pacifica Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the third quarter valued at about $27,000. West Tower Group LLC acquired a new stake in PepsiCo during the second quarter worth about $36,000. VitalStone Financial LLC purchased a new position in PepsiCo during the second quarter worth about $46,000. Finally, Pacific Center for Financial Services acquired a new position in PepsiCo in the 1st quarter valued at about $47,000. 71.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

PepsiCo Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of PepsiCo stock traded up $0.13 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $172.73. The company had a trading volume of 4,275,623 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,958,526. PepsiCo, Inc. has a twelve month low of $155.83 and a twelve month high of $196.88. The company has a market cap of $237.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 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. The company’s 50-day moving average is $167.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $167.98.

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

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

PEP has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com cut PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of PepsiCo from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $185.00 to $176.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 19th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of PepsiCo from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $190.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, March 18th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $179.00 to $183.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 13th. Finally, Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $195.00 price target on shares of PepsiCo in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $187.77.

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.