Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. Reduces Holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. decreased its position in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 1.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,654 shares of the company’s stock after selling 90 shares during the period. Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc.’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $860,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mystic Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in PepsiCo by 40.2% during the 4th quarter. Mystic Asset Management Inc. now owns 22,951 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,490,000 after buying an additional 6,579 shares during the period. Leelyn Smith LLC grew its holdings in PepsiCo by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Leelyn Smith LLC now owns 16,686 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,537,000 after acquiring an additional 318 shares in the last quarter. Dopkins Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in PepsiCo during the 4th quarter worth $263,000. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in PepsiCo during the 4th quarter worth $1,009,000. Finally, Cozad Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in PepsiCo by 10.3% during the 4th quarter. Cozad Asset Management Inc. now owns 18,258 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,776,000 after acquiring an additional 1,705 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

PepsiCo Stock Up 1.9 %

PEP stock opened at $151.34 on Tuesday. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 52 week low of $141.51 and a 52 week high of $183.41. The company has a market capitalization of $207.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.52. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $148.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $159.75. 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 (NASDAQ:PEP) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.02. PepsiCo had a net margin of 10.43% and a return on equity of 58.87%. The business had revenue of $27.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $27.89 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.78 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $1.355 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.58%. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is currently 77.99%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PEP has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $195.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $183.00 to $165.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $171.00 to $170.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $193.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, PepsiCo presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $170.59.

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.