PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) Stake Reduced by WestEnd Advisors LLC

WestEnd Advisors LLC trimmed its stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 3.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 186,595 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,682 shares during the quarter. WestEnd Advisors LLC’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $31,691,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Harbour Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Harbour Capital Advisors LLC now owns 27,446 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,747,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC grew its position in PepsiCo by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 13,240 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,243,000 after buying an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Marion Wealth Management increased its stake in PepsiCo by 31.7% during the 4th quarter. Marion Wealth Management now owns 7,888 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,340,000 after buying an additional 1,900 shares during the period. Metis Global Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 20.1% in the 3rd quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 59,879 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,146,000 after acquiring an additional 10,005 shares during the period. Finally, Widmann Financial Services Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 7.1% in the third quarter. Widmann Financial Services Inc. now owns 8,001 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,356,000 after acquiring an additional 530 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PEP has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup upgraded PepsiCo from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $180.00 to $195.00 in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on PepsiCo from $181.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $179.00 to $183.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of PepsiCo from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $190.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, March 18th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $180.00 price target on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Monday, February 12th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $187.77.

PepsiCo Stock Up 0.5 %

NASDAQ PEP traded up $0.84 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $173.57. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,686,661 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,942,578. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $167.96 and a 200-day moving average price of $167.95. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 1-year low of $155.83 and a 1-year high of $196.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $238.57 billion, a PE ratio of 26.42, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.53.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 9th. The company reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.72 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $27.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $28.40 billion. PepsiCo had a net margin of 9.92% and a return on equity of 58.03%. PepsiCo’s revenue for the quarter was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.67 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st will be issued a $1.265 dividend. This represents a $5.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 29th. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.02%.

PepsiCo Company 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.