PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) Shares Sold by West Family Investments Inc.

West Family Investments Inc. cut its stake in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 3.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 9,332 shares of the company’s stock after selling 337 shares during the period. West Family Investments Inc.’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $1,419,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Collier Financial acquired a new stake in shares of PepsiCo during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC bought a new position in PepsiCo during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in PepsiCo during the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its stake in PepsiCo by 93.2% during the 3rd quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 199 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in PepsiCo during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. 73.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on PEP. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on PepsiCo from $185.00 to $168.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on PepsiCo from $184.00 to $178.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased 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. Citigroup decreased their price target on PepsiCo from $195.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, HSBC decreased their price target on PepsiCo from $186.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $172.35.

PepsiCo Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ PEP opened at $154.61 on Friday. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 12 month low of $141.51 and a 12 month high of $183.41. The company has a market cap of $212.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.25, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $148.77 and a 200-day simple moving average of $161.10.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.02. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 58.87% and a net margin of 10.43%. The business had revenue of $27.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $27.89 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.78 earnings per share. PepsiCo’s revenue was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 EPS for the current year.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $1.355 per share. This represents a $5.42 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.51%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is 77.99%.

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.