Latitude Advisors LLC Sells 247 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Latitude Advisors LLC cut its position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 9.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,313 shares of the company’s stock after selling 247 shares during the quarter. Latitude Advisors LLC’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $352,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PEP. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 9.2% in 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 in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 104.2% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,705,574 shares of the company’s stock valued at $259,350,000 after buying an additional 870,451 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its position in shares of PepsiCo by 11.0% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 350,225 shares of the company’s stock worth $59,549,000 after acquiring an additional 34,633 shares in the last quarter. Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV raised its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 12.8% in the 4th quarter. Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 41,580 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,323,000 after acquiring an additional 4,712 shares during the last quarter. Finally, IHT Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in PepsiCo by 19.3% during the 3rd quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 32,267 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,493,000 after purchasing an additional 5,220 shares during the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

NASDAQ PEP opened at $144.35 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $151.42 and its 200-day moving average is $164.06. The firm has a market cap of $197.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.54. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 12-month low of $141.51 and a 12-month high of $183.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.02. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 58.87% and a net margin of 10.43%. The firm had revenue of $27.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $27.89 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.78 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.34 earnings per share for the current year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is 77.99%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on PEP shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on PepsiCo from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $193.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $184.00 to $178.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $183.00 to $165.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, HSBC cut their target price on PepsiCo from $186.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $171.47.

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.