PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) Shares Sold by Saratoga Research & Investment Management

Saratoga Research & Investment Management cut its position in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 6.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 164,944 shares of the company’s stock after selling 10,439 shares during the period. PepsiCo comprises about 1.3% of Saratoga Research & Investment Management’s holdings, making the stock its 25th largest position. Saratoga Research & Investment Management’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $25,081,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of PEP. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in PepsiCo in the 4th quarter valued at $2,729,565,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the fourth quarter worth about $589,307,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of PepsiCo by 18.1% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 25,217,043 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,834,504,000 after buying an additional 3,856,193 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised 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 valued at $9,738,429,000 after buying an additional 2,775,679 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in 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 in the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on PEP shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price 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. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $171.00 to $170.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Evercore ISI cut their target price on PepsiCo from $180.00 to $160.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. HSBC dropped their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $186.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $183.00 to $160.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, PepsiCo has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $169.88.

PepsiCo Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of PepsiCo stock opened at $149.27 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.65. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 1-year low of $141.51 and a 1-year high of $183.41. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $149.25 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $157.91. The company has a market capitalization of $204.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.48, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.52.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $27.78 billion for 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%. The company’s revenue was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.78 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 EPS for the current year.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $1.355 dividend. This represents a $5.42 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.99%.

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.