LifeSteps Financial Inc. Sells 85 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

LifeSteps Financial Inc. trimmed its stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 2.2% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 3,697 shares of the company’s stock after selling 85 shares during the period. LifeSteps Financial Inc.’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $562,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of PepsiCo during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Collier Financial bought a new stake in shares of PepsiCo during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in PepsiCo in the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its position in PepsiCo by 93.2% in the 3rd quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 199 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PEP has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. StockNews.com cut PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. BNP Paribas decreased their price objective on PepsiCo from $162.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. HSBC dropped their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $186.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $185.00 to $168.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, PepsiCo has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $171.47.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

Shares of PepsiCo stock opened at $153.50 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $210.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.09, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.54. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 52 week low of $141.51 and a 52 week high of $183.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $148.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $162.39.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $27.89 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.78 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 EPS for the current year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.53%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is 77.99%.

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.