Royal London Asset Management Ltd. Sells 27,433 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. lowered its holdings in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 2.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,091,202 shares of the company’s stock after selling 27,433 shares during the quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $179,972,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in PepsiCo by 77.5% during the first quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 158 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC raised its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 141.3% in the 2nd quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 181 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new stake in PepsiCo in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Fortis Group Advisors LLC boosted its position in PepsiCo by 100.0% during the fourth quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC now owns 194 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the period. Finally, Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. acquired a new position in PepsiCo during the first quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

PEP opened at $178.19 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $244.76 billion, a PE ratio of 25.86, a P/E/G ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $171.27 and its 200-day simple moving average is $171.24. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 1 year low of $155.83 and a 1 year high of $183.41.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 11th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $22.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.59 billion. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 57.37% and a net margin of 10.34%. PepsiCo’s quarterly revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.09 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.15 EPS for the current year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be paid a $1.355 dividend. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 6th. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 78.66%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $179.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. TD Cowen lowered their price target on PepsiCo from $200.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 3rd. StockNews.com raised PepsiCo from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on PepsiCo from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, PepsiCo currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $185.53.

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.