Legato Capital Management LLC Takes $757,000 Position in PepsiCo, Inc. $PEP

Legato Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 5,276 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $757,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. MH & Associates Securities Management Corp ADV bought a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Imprint Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in PepsiCo in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Strategic Advocates LLC purchased a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the third quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Highline Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 56.3% during the fourth quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 250 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

PepsiCo Price Performance

PEP opened at $150.57 on Tuesday. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 1 year low of $127.60 and a 1 year high of $171.48. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $154.00 and a 200-day moving average price of $152.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The firm has a market cap of $205.79 billion, a PE ratio of 23.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.38.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The company reported $1.61 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.55 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $19.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.89 billion. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 56.61% and a net margin of 9.15%.PepsiCo’s revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.48 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, February 3rd that authorizes the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 4.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be issued a dividend of $1.48 per share. This is a positive change from PepsiCo’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $5.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.9%. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is currently 89.32%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $170.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $169.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 17th. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn lifted their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $130.00 to $132.00 in a report on Monday, May 11th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, PepsiCo presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $170.11.

PepsiCo Profile

PepsiCo, Inc (NASDAQ: PEP) is a multinational food and beverage company headquartered in Purchase, New York. The company develops, manufactures, markets and sells a broad portfolio of branded food and beverage products, including carbonated and noncarbonated soft drinks, bottled water, sports drinks, juices, ready-to-drink teas and coffees, salty snacks, cereals, and other convenient foods. Its leading consumer brands include Pepsi, Mountain Dew, Gatorade, Tropicana, Quaker, Lay’s, Doritos and Cheetos, among others.

Formed through the 1965 merger of Pepsi-Cola and Frito-Lay, PepsiCo has grown into a global business with integrated manufacturing, distribution and marketing operations.