Cerity Partners LLC Sells 49,012 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Cerity Partners LLC decreased its holdings in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 5.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 895,928 shares of the company’s stock after selling 49,012 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC owned approximately 0.07% of PepsiCo worth $137,808,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in PepsiCo by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 133,371,504 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,280,471,000 after buying an additional 1,376,133 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 31,079,522 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,717,069,000 after acquiring an additional 582,254 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in PepsiCo by 18.1% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 25,217,043 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,834,504,000 after purchasing an additional 3,856,193 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in PepsiCo during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,729,565,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 14,013,158 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,130,841,000 after buying an additional 689,383 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

PepsiCo Price Performance

Shares of PEP stock opened at $146.61 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $149.33 and its 200-day moving average is $156.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.82. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 52 week low of $141.51 and a 52 week high of $183.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $201.05 billion, a PE ratio of 21.09, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.49.

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

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a $1.355 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.42 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.70%. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 77.99%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on PEP shares. Royal Bank of Canada began coverage on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. They issued a $172.00 target price on the stock. HSBC dropped their price objective on PepsiCo from $186.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price 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. BNP Paribas dropped their price target on PepsiCo from $162.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on PepsiCo from $184.00 to $178.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $169.88.

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.