Covington Investment Advisors Inc. Has $3.80 Million Stock Holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Covington Investment Advisors Inc. lowered its stake in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 2.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 25,008 shares of the company’s stock after selling 630 shares during the quarter. Covington Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $3,803,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of PEP. Tcfg Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of PepsiCo by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Tcfg Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,938 shares of the company’s stock valued at $295,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the period. Lincoln Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of PepsiCo by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Lincoln Capital LLC now owns 16,808 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,556,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Financial Group LLC now owns 3,128 shares of the company’s stock valued at $476,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Osprey Private Wealth LLC lifted its stake in PepsiCo by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Osprey Private Wealth LLC now owns 15,060 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,290,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TAGStone Capital Inc. grew its stake in PepsiCo by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. TAGStone Capital Inc. now owns 2,527 shares of the company’s stock worth $388,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on PEP. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $171.00 to $170.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $184.00 to $178.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $195.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $180.00 to $160.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, HSBC dropped their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $186.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, PepsiCo has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $169.88.

PepsiCo Price Performance

Shares of PepsiCo stock opened at $149.67 on Friday. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 1-year low of $141.51 and a 1-year high of $183.41. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $149.23 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $158.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $205.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.54, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.52.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $27.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $27.89 billion. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 58.87% and a net margin of 10.43%. PepsiCo’s revenue for the quarter was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.78 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 3.62%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.