Prudential Financial Inc. Lowers Stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Prudential Financial Inc. trimmed its stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 34.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 872,264 shares of the company’s stock after selling 468,361 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc. owned about 0.06% of PepsiCo worth $132,636,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. ICW Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in PepsiCo by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC now owns 21,072 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,204,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares during the period. TAGStone Capital Inc. increased its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. TAGStone Capital Inc. now owns 2,527 shares of the company’s stock valued at $388,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the period. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE lifted its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE now owns 25,126 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,821,000 after purchasing an additional 969 shares during the last quarter. Clune & Associates LTD. bought a new stake in PepsiCo during the fourth quarter valued at about $291,000. Finally, Crowley Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in PepsiCo in the fourth quarter worth about $246,000. 73.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on PEP shares. Barclays lowered shares of PepsiCo from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $168.00 to $156.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on PepsiCo from $185.00 to $168.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $171.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on PepsiCo from $180.00 to $160.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $193.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $169.88.

PepsiCo Price Performance

Shares of PepsiCo stock opened at $145.45 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $199.48 billion, a PE ratio of 20.93, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.52. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $149.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $158.96. 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 twelve month low of $141.51 and a twelve month high of $183.41.

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

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $1.355 dividend. This represents a $5.42 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.99%.

About PepsiCo

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.