Duncan Williams Asset Management LLC Reduces Stock Position in PepsiCo, Inc. $PEP

Duncan Williams Asset Management LLC reduced its holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 81.7% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,376 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,126 shares during the period. Duncan Williams Asset Management LLC’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $197,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in PEP. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 3.6% in the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 554,798 shares of the company’s stock valued at $77,916,000 after buying an additional 19,218 shares during the period. Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 622.3% in the fourth quarter. Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc. now owns 35,603 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,110,000 after buying an additional 30,674 shares during the period. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 11.4% in the fourth quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 415,271 shares of the company’s stock valued at $59,600,000 after buying an additional 42,335 shares during the period. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 19.3% in the third quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd now owns 252,916 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,451,000 after buying an additional 40,947 shares during the period. Finally, Townsquare Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 96.5% in the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 40,383 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,671,000 after buying an additional 19,829 shares during the period. 73.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

Shares of PEP stock opened at $149.12 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $155.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $152.41. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 12 month low of $127.60 and a 12 month high of $171.48. The firm has a market cap of $203.81 billion, a PE ratio of 23.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.38.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The company reported $1.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.55 by $0.06. PepsiCo had a net margin of 9.15% and a return on equity of 56.61%. The firm had revenue of $19.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.89 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.48 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, February 3rd that permits the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 4.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be given a dividend of $1.48 per share. This represents a $5.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.0%. This is an increase from PepsiCo’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is currently 89.32%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PEP has been the subject of several research analyst reports. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Rothschild & Co Redburn boosted their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $130.00 to $132.00 in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Evercore boosted their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $165.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Friday, April 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $172.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Finally, HSBC boosted their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $175.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $170.37.

PepsiCo Company Profile

PepsiCo, Inc (NASDAQ: PEP) is a multinational food and beverage company headquartered in Purchase, New York. The company develops, manufactures, markets and sells a broad portfolio of branded food and beverage products, including carbonated and noncarbonated soft drinks, bottled water, sports drinks, juices, ready-to-drink teas and coffees, salty snacks, cereals, and other convenient foods. Its leading consumer brands include Pepsi, Mountain Dew, Gatorade, Tropicana, Quaker, Lay’s, Doritos and Cheetos, among others.

Formed through the 1965 merger of Pepsi-Cola and Frito-Lay, PepsiCo has grown into a global business with integrated manufacturing, distribution and marketing operations.