WD Rutherford LLC Reduces Holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

WD Rutherford LLC cut its holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 31.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,206 shares of the company’s stock after selling 995 shares during the period. WD Rutherford LLC’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $335,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PEP. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 9.2% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 99,785 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,968,000 after acquiring an additional 8,406 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in PepsiCo by 104.2% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,705,574 shares of the company’s stock valued at $259,350,000 after purchasing an additional 870,451 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in PepsiCo by 11.0% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 350,225 shares of the company’s stock worth $59,549,000 after purchasing an additional 34,633 shares in the last quarter. Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its position in shares of PepsiCo by 12.8% during the fourth quarter. Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 41,580 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,323,000 after buying an additional 4,712 shares during the period. Finally, IHT Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 19.3% in the third quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 32,267 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,493,000 after buying an additional 5,220 shares in the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PepsiCo Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:PEP opened at $143.39 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $149.80 and a 200-day simple moving average of $163.20. PepsiCo, Inc. has a twelve month low of $141.51 and a twelve month high of $183.41. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05. The company has a market capitalization of $196.66 billion, a PE ratio of 20.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.54.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $27.78 billion during 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 quarterly revenue was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.78 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $1.355 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.78%. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is presently 77.99%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on PepsiCo from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $185.00 to $168.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. CICC Research reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Friday, February 7th. HSBC cut their price objective on PepsiCo from $186.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their target price on PepsiCo from $183.00 to $160.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $171.47.

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.