PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) Shares Sold by Sapient Capital LLC

Sapient Capital LLC decreased its holdings in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 8.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 16,557 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,449 shares during the period. Sapient Capital LLC’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $2,540,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Pineridge Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 57.6% during the fourth quarter. Pineridge Advisors LLC now owns 1,779 shares of the company’s stock valued at $271,000 after buying an additional 650 shares during the last quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC grew its stake in PepsiCo by 11.0% during the 4th quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 5,218 shares of the company’s stock valued at $793,000 after purchasing an additional 519 shares during the last quarter. Quilter Plc increased its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Quilter Plc now owns 14,816 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,253,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the period. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of PepsiCo during the fourth quarter worth about $421,000. Finally, Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA purchased a new stake in PepsiCo in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $75,000. 73.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on PEP. BNP Paribas decreased their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $162.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on PepsiCo from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on PepsiCo from $184.00 to $178.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on PepsiCo from $183.00 to $165.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $185.00 to $168.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $171.47.

PepsiCo Stock Down 0.2 %

PEP stock opened at $144.35 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $151.42 and a two-hundred day moving average of $164.06. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 12 month low of $141.51 and a 12 month high of $183.41. The company has a market cap of $197.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.77, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.54.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $27.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $27.89 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.78 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $1.355 per share. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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.