Hennessy Advisors Inc. Decreases Holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Hennessy Advisors Inc. cut its stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 3.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 29,700 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,100 shares during the quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc.’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $4,516,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of PEP. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates grew its holdings in PepsiCo by 59.0% during the 3rd quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 159 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in PepsiCo in the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PepsiCo during the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its position in shares of PepsiCo by 93.2% during the third quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 199 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mattson Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in PepsiCo in the second quarter valued at about $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on PEP. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised PepsiCo from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $179.00 to $184.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $185.00 to $183.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of PepsiCo to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on PepsiCo from $183.00 to $160.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on PepsiCo from $177.00 to $176.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, PepsiCo presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $178.60.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

Shares of PEP stock opened at $148.25 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.70. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 12-month low of $141.51 and a 12-month high of $183.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $203.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.54. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $155.37 and a 200 day simple moving average of $165.82.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th were given a dividend of $1.355 per share. This represents a $5.42 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is 79.94%.

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.