The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Lowers Position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company cut its holdings in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 17.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 833,988 shares of the company’s stock after selling 178,176 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $141,820,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 9.2% during the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 99,785 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,968,000 after purchasing an additional 8,406 shares during the period. Meridian Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in PepsiCo during the 3rd quarter valued at about $9,589,000. M&G Plc boosted its holdings in PepsiCo by 3.6% during the 2nd quarter. M&G Plc now owns 426,269 shares of the company’s stock valued at $70,334,000 after acquiring an additional 14,724 shares during the period. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc boosted its holdings in PepsiCo by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc now owns 135,331 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,013,000 after acquiring an additional 4,547 shares during the period. Finally, Fiduciary Family Office LLC boosted its holdings in PepsiCo by 119.6% during the 3rd quarter. Fiduciary Family Office LLC now owns 6,843 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,164,000 after acquiring an additional 3,727 shares during the period. 73.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PEP has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. TD Cowen cut PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $190.00 to $183.00 in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Barclays lowered their target price on PepsiCo from $186.00 to $183.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on PepsiCo from $177.00 to $176.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 4th. StockNews.com raised PepsiCo from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on PepsiCo from $185.00 to $183.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, PepsiCo presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $183.92.

PepsiCo Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PEP opened at $162.16 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 0.89. PepsiCo, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $155.85 and a fifty-two week high of $183.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $222.48 billion, a PE ratio of 23.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.53. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $168.43 and its 200-day simple moving average is $170.66.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 8th. The company reported $2.31 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $23.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.86 billion. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 57.32% and a net margin of 10.18%. The firm’s revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.25 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be given a dividend of $1.355 per share. This represents a $5.42 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.34%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 79.94%.

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.