PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) Shares Sold by Argent Trust Co

Argent Trust Co reduced its stake in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 2.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 102,715 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,066 shares during the period. Argent Trust Co’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $15,619,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in PepsiCo by 104.2% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,705,574 shares of the company’s stock worth $259,350,000 after acquiring an additional 870,451 shares during the period. Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV grew its position in shares of PepsiCo by 12.8% during the fourth quarter. Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 41,580 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,323,000 after buying an additional 4,712 shares in the last quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD grew its position in shares of PepsiCo by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD now owns 1,236,788 shares of the company’s stock worth $188,031,000 after buying an additional 61,541 shares in the last quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of PepsiCo by 147.6% during the fourth quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 14,692 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,229,000 after buying an additional 8,759 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Everence Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of PepsiCo by 48.2% during the fourth quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. now owns 56,089 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,529,000 after buying an additional 18,250 shares in the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PEP traded up $0.94 on Thursday, reaching $146.53. 775,756 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,023,499. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05. PepsiCo, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $138.33 and a fifty-two week high of $183.41. The business’s 50-day moving average is $148.47 and its two-hundred day moving average is $156.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $200.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.08, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.49.

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

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were given a dividend of $1.355 per share. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 77.99%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on PEP. Royal Bank of Canada began coverage on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. They issued a $172.00 price objective for the company. TD Cowen dropped their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $183.00 to $160.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. CICC Research reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on PepsiCo from $185.00 to $168.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on PepsiCo from $193.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, PepsiCo currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $169.88.

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.