Securian Asset Management Inc. Sells 2,232 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Securian Asset Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 2.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 73,738 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,232 shares during the quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $11,213,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Great Lakes Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 16.6% during the 4th quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 586,467 shares of the company’s stock valued at $89,178,000 after purchasing an additional 83,426 shares during the period. Westchester Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Westchester Capital Management Inc. now owns 11,622 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,767,000 after purchasing an additional 453 shares during the period. Truvestments Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 2,834 shares of the company’s stock valued at $431,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the period. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $767,000. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 7.1% during the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 28,960 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,404,000 after acquiring an additional 1,923 shares during the period. 73.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on PEP shares. Barclays boosted their price objective on PepsiCo from $153.00 to $168.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on PepsiCo from $180.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Royal Bank of Canada began coverage on PepsiCo in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. They set a $172.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on PepsiCo from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, StockNews.com cut PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, PepsiCo has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $172.35.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

NASDAQ PEP opened at $152.33 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $208.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.92, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.82. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $148.90 and its 200-day moving average price is $160.46. PepsiCo, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $141.51 and a fifty-two week high of $183.41.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last released 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. The firm had revenue of $27.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $27.89 billion. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 58.87% and a net margin of 10.43%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.78 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current year.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given 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 (DPR) 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.