Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Trims Stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 4.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 138,480 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,107 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $21,057,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Essential Planning LLC. purchased a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the fourth quarter worth $4,606,000. Great Lakes Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 16.6% in the fourth quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 586,467 shares of the company’s stock worth $89,178,000 after purchasing an additional 83,426 shares in the last quarter. Westchester Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Westchester Capital Management Inc. now owns 11,622 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,767,000 after purchasing an additional 453 shares in the last quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 2,834 shares of the company’s stock worth $431,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hopwood Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the fourth quarter worth $767,000. 73.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on PEP shares. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on shares of PepsiCo in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $171.00 target price for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $184.00 to $178.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. BNP Paribas dropped their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $162.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $171.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, PepsiCo has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $170.59.

PepsiCo Price Performance

PepsiCo stock opened at $152.33 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $148.90 and a 200-day moving average price of $160.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $208.92 billion, a PE ratio of 21.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 12-month low of $141.51 and a 12-month high of $183.41.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $27.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $27.89 billion. PepsiCo had a net margin of 10.43% and a return on equity of 58.87%. The business’s revenue was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.78 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 EPS for the current year.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The business 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 $1.355 dividend. This represents a $5.42 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.56%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is presently 77.99%.

PepsiCo 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.