PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) Shares Sold by Sentry Investment Management LLC

Sentry Investment Management LLC cut its stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 14.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,431 shares of the company’s stock after selling 944 shares during the quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $826,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 57,268,030 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,738,429,000 after purchasing an additional 2,775,679 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in PepsiCo by 1.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 30,497,268 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,170,529,000 after buying an additional 543,558 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 21,360,850 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,632,413,000 after acquiring an additional 1,125,059 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 21.1% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 13,021,316 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,293,049,000 after acquiring an additional 2,264,445 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of PepsiCo by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 12,098,551 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,057,359,000 after acquiring an additional 313,468 shares during the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

Shares of PEP stock opened at $153.85 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $211.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.14, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $148.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $161.98. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 12 month low of $141.51 and a 12 month high of $183.41.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last issued its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $27.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $27.89 billion. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 58.87% and a net margin of 10.43%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.78 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a $1.355 dividend. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.99%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. HSBC reduced their target price on shares of 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 price objective on PepsiCo from $185.00 to $168.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. UBS Group cut their target price on PepsiCo from $193.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Royal Bank of Canada assumed coverage on PepsiCo in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. They issued a $172.00 price target on the stock. Finally, BNP Paribas cut their price objective on PepsiCo from $162.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company 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.