WestEnd Advisors LLC Sells 5,660 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. $PEP

WestEnd Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 252,599 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,660 shares during the quarter. WestEnd Advisors LLC’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $35,475,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in PEP. Nova Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in PepsiCo in the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the second quarter worth $29,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 107.1% during the 2nd quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 234 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 121 shares during the period. Finally, Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC raised its holdings in PepsiCo by 667.7% in the 3rd quarter. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC now owns 238 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 207 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on PEP shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on PepsiCo from $165.00 to $167.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on PepsiCo from $146.00 to $145.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 15th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $172.00 price target on shares of PepsiCo in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of PepsiCo in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $163.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, PepsiCo has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $158.75.

PepsiCo Price Performance

Shares of PEP stock opened at $142.23 on Monday. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 12 month low of $127.60 and a 12 month high of $160.15. The company has a market capitalization of $194.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.04, a P/E/G ratio of 4.66 and a beta of 0.42. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $146.37 and a two-hundred day moving average of $143.96. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 8th. The company reported $2.29 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.26 by $0.03. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 57.58% and a net margin of 7.82%.The business had revenue of $23.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.91 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.31 earnings per share. PepsiCo’s revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 EPS for the current year.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 5th will be given a dividend of $1.4225 per share. This represents a $5.69 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 5th. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is 108.17%.

PepsiCo Company Profile

PepsiCo, Inc (NASDAQ: PEP) is a multinational food and beverage company headquartered in Purchase, New York. The company develops, manufactures, markets and sells a broad portfolio of branded food and beverage products, including carbonated and noncarbonated soft drinks, bottled water, sports drinks, juices, ready-to-drink teas and coffees, salty snacks, cereals, and other convenient foods. Its leading consumer brands include Pepsi, Mountain Dew, Gatorade, Tropicana, Quaker, Lay’s, Doritos and Cheetos, among others.

Formed through the 1965 merger of Pepsi-Cola and Frito-Lay, PepsiCo has grown into a global business with integrated manufacturing, distribution and marketing operations.