PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) Shares Sold by Vestcor Inc

Vestcor Inc lowered its stake in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 2.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 167,134 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,837 shares during the period. PepsiCo accounts for 0.8% of Vestcor Inc’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest position. Vestcor Inc’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $25,414,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its stake in PepsiCo by 114.6% during the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 427 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,000 after buying an additional 228 shares during the last quarter. Essential Planning LLC. purchased a new stake in PepsiCo in the fourth quarter valued at $4,606,000. Great Lakes Advisors LLC raised its position in PepsiCo by 16.6% in the fourth 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. raised its position in PepsiCo by 4.1% in the fourth 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. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC raised its position in PepsiCo by 3.7% in the fourth 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on PEP. HSBC reduced their target price on PepsiCo from $186.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on PepsiCo from $180.00 to $160.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Barclays lifted their target price on PepsiCo from $153.00 to $168.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Royal Bank of Canada assumed coverage on PepsiCo in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. They issued a $172.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, CICC Research reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Friday, February 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $170.59.

PepsiCo Trading Down 2.7 %

PEP opened at $148.17 on Thursday. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 12 month low of $141.51 and a 12 month high of $183.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $203.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.32, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $148.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $160.37.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $27.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $27.89 billion. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 58.87% and a net margin of 10.43%. PepsiCo’s revenue for the quarter was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.78 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $1.355 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.42 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.66%. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.