PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) Shares Sold by Wedbush Securities Inc.

Wedbush Securities Inc. lowered its position in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 1.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 40,489 shares of the company’s stock after selling 541 shares during the quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc.’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $6,157,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC raised its stake in PepsiCo by 21.6% in the 4th quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC now owns 10,038 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,526,000 after purchasing an additional 1,781 shares during the last quarter. Aviva PLC grew its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 6.4% during the fourth quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 1,677,906 shares of the company’s stock worth $255,142,000 after buying an additional 100,410 shares in the last quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the fourth quarter valued at about $75,235,000. AllGen Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. AllGen Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 20,649 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,140,000 after buying an additional 457 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Prudential PLC grew its stake in PepsiCo by 333.6% during the 4th quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 14,408 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,191,000 after acquiring an additional 11,085 shares in the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PEP has been the topic of several recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada assumed coverage on PepsiCo in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. They set a $172.00 target price on the stock. BNP Paribas lowered their price objective on PepsiCo from $162.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on PepsiCo from $184.00 to $178.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. StockNews.com lowered shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Piper Sandler began coverage on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $171.00 target price on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, PepsiCo currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $169.88.

PepsiCo Price Performance

PEP opened at $146.61 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $149.33 and its 200 day moving average price is $157.21. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 12-month low of $141.51 and a 12-month high of $183.41. The firm has a market cap of $201.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.09, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.02. PepsiCo had a net margin of 10.43% and a return on equity of 58.87%. The business had revenue of $27.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $27.89 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.78 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were given a dividend of $1.355 per share. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was 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.