Zacks Investment Management Sells 88,201 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Zacks Investment Management decreased its holdings in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 12.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 593,304 shares of the company’s stock after selling 88,201 shares during the quarter. Zacks Investment Management’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $90,218,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in PepsiCo by 104.2% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,705,574 shares of the company’s stock valued at $259,350,000 after acquiring an additional 870,451 shares in the last quarter. Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV increased its holdings in PepsiCo by 12.8% in the fourth quarter. Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 41,580 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,323,000 after purchasing an additional 4,712 shares in the last quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD increased its stake in PepsiCo by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD now owns 1,236,788 shares of the company’s stock valued at $188,031,000 after purchasing an additional 61,541 shares in the last quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC lifted its position in PepsiCo by 147.6% in the 4th quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 14,692 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,229,000 after acquiring an additional 8,759 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Everence Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 48.2% in the 4th quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. now owns 56,089 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,529,000 after buying an additional 18,250 shares during the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

PepsiCo Stock Down 2.7 %

PEP opened at $142.84 on Wednesday. PepsiCo, Inc. has a twelve month low of $138.33 and a twelve month high of $183.41. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $148.34 and its 200-day simple moving average is $155.43. 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 firm has a market cap of $195.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.55, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.49.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $27.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $27.89 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.78 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors 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 yield of 3.79%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is 77.99%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PEP has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $180.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $171.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Bank of America restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $155.00 price objective (down from $185.00) on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Tuesday. Barclays downgraded PepsiCo from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $168.00 to $156.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, CICC Research reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Friday, February 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $168.12.

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.