Level Four Advisory Services LLC Has $4.76 Million Position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Level Four Advisory Services LLC trimmed its stake in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 3.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 31,277 shares of the company’s stock after selling 991 shares during the quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $4,756,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of PEP. Vertex Planning Partners LLC lifted its holdings in PepsiCo by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Vertex Planning Partners LLC now owns 3,871 shares of the company’s stock worth $589,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Slagle Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 8.9% during the fourth quarter. Slagle Financial LLC now owns 33,599 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,109,000 after buying an additional 2,747 shares in the last quarter. denkapparat Operations GmbH bought a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the fourth quarter valued at about $282,000. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC increased its position in PepsiCo by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 130,108 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,784,000 after acquiring an additional 5,924 shares during the period. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its stake in PepsiCo by 11.6% in the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 844,711 shares of the company’s stock worth $128,447,000 after purchasing an additional 87,727 shares in the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

PepsiCo Trading Down 0.3 %

PEP opened at $149.27 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.65. PepsiCo, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $141.51 and a fifty-two week high of $183.41. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $149.25 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $158.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $204.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.48, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.52.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $27.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $27.89 billion. PepsiCo had a net margin of 10.43% and a return on equity of 58.87%. PepsiCo’s revenue for the quarter was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.78 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $1.355 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.42 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.63%. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is 77.99%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on PEP. BNP Paribas cut their price target on PepsiCo from $162.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $171.00 to $170.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on PepsiCo from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $193.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, HSBC reduced their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $186.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $169.88.

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.