Verus Capital Partners LLC Cuts Stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Verus Capital Partners LLC cut its position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 4.2% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 7,778 shares of the company’s stock after selling 339 shares during the quarter. Verus Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $1,183,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in PepsiCo in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Collier Financial purchased a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in PepsiCo in the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its position in PepsiCo by 93.2% in the 3rd quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 199 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

PepsiCo Price Performance

PEP stock opened at $152.02 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.82. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $148.57 and its 200-day moving average price is $161.73. PepsiCo, Inc. has a one year low of $141.51 and a one year high of $183.41. The company has a market capitalization of $208.50 billion, a PE ratio of 21.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.54.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $27.89 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.78 EPS. The business’s revenue was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The company 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 $1.355 dividend. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is 77.99%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on PEP. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $158.00 to $153.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on PepsiCo from $184.00 to $178.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. UBS Group lowered their target price on PepsiCo from $193.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, PepsiCo currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $171.47.

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.