Vicus Capital Decreases Stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Vicus Capital reduced its stake in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 39.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,395 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,572 shares during the period. Vicus Capital’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $407,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Flossbach Von Storch AG boosted its position in shares of PepsiCo by 67.2% in the 1st quarter. Flossbach Von Storch AG now owns 4,560,007 shares of the company’s stock worth $798,047,000 after buying an additional 1,832,385 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB boosted its position in shares of PepsiCo by 211.4% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 2,345,467 shares of the company’s stock worth $398,847,000 after buying an additional 1,592,343 shares in the last quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of PepsiCo by 125.2% in the 2nd quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,740,573 shares of the company’s stock worth $452,003,000 after buying an additional 1,523,631 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in shares of PepsiCo by 429.3% in the 1st quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,454,793 shares of the company’s stock worth $254,603,000 after buying an additional 1,179,922 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc boosted its position in shares of PepsiCo by 7.2% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 13,547,547 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,234,400,000 after buying an additional 905,468 shares in the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PepsiCo Stock Down 0.4 %

PEP opened at $174.37 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $173.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $172.23. The company has a market cap of $239.23 billion, a PE ratio of 25.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 0.53. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 1 year low of $158.03 and a 1 year high of $183.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 0.89.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 8th. The company reported $2.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $23.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $23.86 billion. PepsiCo had a net margin of 10.18% and a return on equity of 57.32%. The company’s revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.25 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.15 earnings per share for the current year.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 6th were given a $1.355 dividend. This represents a $5.42 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.11%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 6th. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 79.94%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on PEP shares. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $186.00 to $183.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 10th. DZ Bank lowered shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $183.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Friday, July 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $185.00 to $183.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered shares of PepsiCo from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $185.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Friday, September 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $183.92.

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.