Gradient Investments LLC Lowers Holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Gradient Investments LLC reduced its holdings in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP – Get Rating) by 14.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,577 shares of the company’s stock after selling 937 shares during the period. Gradient Investments LLC’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $1,008,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. City State Bank lifted its stake in PepsiCo by 6.5% in the third quarter. City State Bank now owns 1,986 shares of the company’s stock worth $324,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. Hixon Zuercher LLC lifted its stake in PepsiCo by 4.6% during the third quarter. Hixon Zuercher LLC now owns 26,730 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,364,000 after purchasing an additional 1,168 shares during the last quarter. Hendershot Investments Inc. increased its stake in PepsiCo by 1.2% in the third quarter. Hendershot Investments Inc. now owns 95,130 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,531,000 after purchasing an additional 1,118 shares during the last quarter. IAG Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in PepsiCo by 7.4% during the third quarter. IAG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,504 shares of the company’s stock worth $246,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Global Trust Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of PepsiCo by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. Global Trust Asset Management LLC now owns 7,182 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,173,000 after buying an additional 275 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.76% of the company’s stock.

PepsiCo Stock Down 0.8 %

PepsiCo stock opened at $175.13 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $173.66 and its 200 day moving average price is $175.83. The company has a market cap of $241.20 billion, a PE ratio of 27.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.61. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 1-year low of $154.86 and a 1-year high of $186.84.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP – Get Rating) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 9th. The company reported $1.67 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.64 by $0.03. PepsiCo had a net margin of 10.31% and a return on equity of 51.34%. The company had revenue of $28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $26.82 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.53 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 10.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 7.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 3rd will be paid a dividend of $1.15 per share. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 2nd. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 71.76%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on PEP shares. Argus upped their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $195.00 to $206.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on PepsiCo from $181.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 6th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $198.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $187.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 8th. Finally, Credit Suisse Group lifted their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $175.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, PepsiCo has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $184.08.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Robert C. Pohlad sold 75,000 shares of PepsiCo stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.47, for a total transaction of $12,935,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 183,929 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,722,234.63. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other PepsiCo news, Director Robert C. Pohlad sold 75,000 shares of PepsiCo stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.47, for a total transaction of $12,935,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 183,929 shares in the company, valued at $31,722,234.63. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Ramkumar Krishnan sold 16,827 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.70, for a total transaction of $2,906,022.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 49,000 shares in the company, valued at $8,462,300. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

PepsiCo Profile

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PepsiCo, Inc engages in the manufacture, marketing, distribution, and sale of beverages, food, and snacks. It operates through the following business segments: Frito-Lay North America (FLNA), Quaker Foods North America (QFNA), PepsiCo Beverages North America (PBNA), Latin America (LatAm), Europe, Africa, Middle East, and South Asia (AMESA), and Asia Pacific, Australia and New Zealand, and China Region (APAC).