MQS Management LLC Sells 4,638 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

MQS Management LLC lowered its position in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 76.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,437 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,638 shares during the quarter. PepsiCo accounts for approximately 6.2% of MQS Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest position. MQS Management LLC’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $219,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of PEP. Collier Financial bought a new position in PepsiCo during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC bought a new position in PepsiCo during the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in PepsiCo during the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its position in shares of PepsiCo by 93.2% in the 3rd quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 199 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. Finally, Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. HSBC decreased their price target on PepsiCo from $186.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. StockNews.com lowered PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on PepsiCo from $185.00 to $168.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Barclays increased their price target on PepsiCo from $153.00 to $168.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on PepsiCo from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $172.35.

PepsiCo Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of PEP stock opened at $154.44 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $148.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $160.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.82. PepsiCo, Inc. has a twelve month low of $141.51 and a twelve month high of $183.41. The company has a market capitalization of $211.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.22, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.52.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $27.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $27.89 billion. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 58.87% and a net margin of 10.43%. The company’s revenue was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.78 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict 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 Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $1.355 dividend. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.51%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 77.99%.

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.