Stack Financial Management Inc Cuts Stock Holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Stack Financial Management Inc lowered its position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 1.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 118,730 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,522 shares during the period. PepsiCo makes up about 2.3% of Stack Financial Management Inc’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest position. Stack Financial Management Inc’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $20,165,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of PEP. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of PepsiCo by 9,623.6% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,058,061 shares of the company’s stock worth $519,381,000 after buying an additional 3,026,611 shares during the last quarter. J.P. Morgan Private Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in PepsiCo during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $329,179,000. Flossbach Von Storch AG increased its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 121.4% during the 4th quarter. Flossbach Von Storch AG now owns 2,727,622 shares of the company’s stock valued at $463,259,000 after purchasing an additional 1,495,586 shares in the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 17.9% during the 4th quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 9,664,323 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,641,389,000 after purchasing an additional 1,470,064 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 68.0% during the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 2,922,643 shares of the company’s stock valued at $496,382,000 after purchasing an additional 1,183,371 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on PEP. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $181.00 to $184.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $180.00 price target on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Monday, February 12th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $195.00 price target on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Tuesday. Argus lowered shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $199.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $187.42.

PepsiCo Trading Down 0.2 %

NASDAQ PEP traded down $0.27 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $176.41. The company had a trading volume of 1,780,049 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,819,759. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $169.22 and a 200 day moving average of $167.76. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 1-year low of $155.83 and a 1-year high of $196.88. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $242.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.53.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.61 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by $0.09. PepsiCo had a net margin of 10.00% and a return on equity of 57.37%. The company had revenue of $18.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.08 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.50 earnings per share. PepsiCo’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 1st were paid a dividend of $1.265 per share. This represents a $5.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.87%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is currently 76.09%.

PepsiCo 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.