Watchman Group Inc. Trims Stock Position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Watchman Group Inc. lowered its position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 67.1% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 6,463 shares of the company’s stock after selling 13,180 shares during the quarter. Watchman Group Inc.’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $983,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in PepsiCo during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Collier Financial purchased a new position in PepsiCo in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PepsiCo during the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC purchased a new position in PepsiCo during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in PepsiCo during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. 73.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

PepsiCo Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of PEP opened at $149.27 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $149.25 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $158.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05. The company has a market capitalization of $204.72 billion, a PE ratio of 21.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.52. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 52-week low of $141.51 and a 52-week high of $183.41.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last posted its earnings results 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 company had revenue of $27.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $27.89 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.78 EPS. PepsiCo’s revenue was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 EPS for the current year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $1.355 per share. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is presently 77.99%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on PEP. HSBC dropped their price target on PepsiCo from $186.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. CICC Research reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Friday, February 7th. BNP Paribas cut their target price on PepsiCo from $162.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Barclays downgraded shares of PepsiCo from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $168.00 to $156.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price target on PepsiCo from $195.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, PepsiCo currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.