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

Prudential Financial Inc. decreased its position in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 34.9% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 872,264 shares of the company’s stock after selling 468,361 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc.’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $132,636,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Collier Financial purchased a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC purchased a new position in PepsiCo in the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in PepsiCo during the third quarter worth $31,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Human Investing LLC purchased a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the 4th quarter worth $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

Shares of PEP opened at $145.45 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $199.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.93, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.82. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 1 year low of $141.51 and a 1 year high of $183.41. The company’s fifty day moving average is $149.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $158.96.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last posted 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. The firm had revenue of $27.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $27.89 billion. PepsiCo had a net margin of 10.43% and a return on equity of 58.87%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.78 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $1.355 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.73%. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.99%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PEP has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $184.00 to $178.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $193.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on PepsiCo from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on PepsiCo from $183.00 to $160.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on PepsiCo from $183.00 to $165.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $169.88.

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.