Hills Bank & Trust Co Has $6.13 Million Stock Holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Hills Bank & Trust Co reduced its holdings in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 1.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 36,099 shares of the company’s stock after selling 650 shares during the quarter. Hills Bank & Trust Co’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $6,131,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in PepsiCo by 9,623.6% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,058,061 shares of the company’s stock worth $519,381,000 after acquiring an additional 3,026,611 shares during the last quarter. J.P. Morgan Private Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the third quarter valued at approximately $329,179,000. Flossbach Von Storch AG boosted its position in PepsiCo by 121.4% during the 4th quarter. Flossbach Von Storch AG now owns 2,727,622 shares of the company’s stock worth $463,259,000 after buying an additional 1,495,586 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System grew its holdings in PepsiCo by 17.9% during the 4th quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 9,664,323 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,641,389,000 after acquiring an additional 1,470,064 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its holdings in PepsiCo by 68.0% in the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 2,922,643 shares of the company’s stock valued at $496,382,000 after purchasing an additional 1,183,371 shares during the period. 73.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

PepsiCo Price Performance

PepsiCo stock traded up $1.93 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $179.99. 1,638,908 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,586,278. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 0.86. The company has a market capitalization of $247.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.52. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $170.96 and its 200-day simple moving average is $168.82. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 1 year low of $155.83 and a 1 year high of $196.88.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.61 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $18.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.08 billion. PepsiCo had a net margin of 10.00% and a return on equity of 57.37%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.50 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.16 EPS for the current year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th will be given a dividend of $1.355 per share. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.01%. This is a boost from PepsiCo’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.27. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 7th. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is 81.50%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PEP has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $180.00 target price on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Monday, February 12th. StockNews.com lowered PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. Argus downgraded shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Barclays boosted their price objective on PepsiCo from $184.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded PepsiCo from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $190.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, PepsiCo has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $187.42.

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.