Fruth Investment Management Reduces Stock Holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Fruth Investment Management trimmed its position in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 0.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 28,398 shares of the company’s stock after selling 230 shares during the quarter. PepsiCo accounts for approximately 1.2% of Fruth Investment Management’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position. Fruth Investment Management’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $4,318,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp grew its position in PepsiCo by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 57,268,030 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,738,429,000 after acquiring an additional 2,775,679 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 1.8% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 30,497,268 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,170,529,000 after purchasing an additional 543,558 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in PepsiCo by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 21,360,850 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,632,413,000 after buying an additional 1,125,059 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in PepsiCo by 21.1% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 13,021,316 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,293,049,000 after buying an additional 2,264,445 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in PepsiCo by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 12,098,551 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,057,359,000 after acquiring an additional 313,468 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PEP has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on PepsiCo from $184.00 to $178.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $180.00 to $160.00 in a report on Tuesday. StockNews.com raised shares of PepsiCo from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Redburn Atlantic upgraded PepsiCo to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, PepsiCo presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $171.76.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

Shares of PEP stock opened at $145.66 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $199.84 billion, a PE ratio of 21.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.54. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 52-week low of $141.51 and a 52-week high of $183.41. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $152.49 and a 200-day simple moving average of $164.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.02. PepsiCo had a net margin of 10.18% and a return on equity of 57.32%. The business had revenue of $27.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $27.89 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.78 EPS. The business’s revenue was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.15 EPS for the current year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $1.355 dividend. This represents a $5.42 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.72%. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is presently 79.94%.

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.