Eldridge Investment Advisors Inc. Sells 100 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Eldridge Investment Advisors Inc. decreased its position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 6.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,527 shares of the company’s stock after selling 100 shares during the quarter. Eldridge Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $232,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of PepsiCo by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 57,268,030 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,738,429,000 after purchasing an additional 2,775,679 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of PepsiCo by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 30,497,268 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,170,529,000 after purchasing an additional 543,558 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of PepsiCo by 18.1% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 25,217,043 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,834,504,000 after purchasing an additional 3,856,193 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in shares of PepsiCo by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 14,013,158 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,130,841,000 after purchasing an additional 689,383 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of PepsiCo by 21.1% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 13,021,316 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,293,049,000 after purchasing an additional 2,264,445 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

PepsiCo Price Performance

Shares of PEP stock opened at $148.59 on Friday. PepsiCo, Inc. has a twelve month low of $141.51 and a twelve month high of $183.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $203.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.38, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.52. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $148.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $159.99. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $27.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $27.89 billion. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 58.87% and a net margin of 10.43%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.78 EPS. On average, analysts predict that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $1.355 per share. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 77.99%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI cut their target price on PepsiCo from $180.00 to $160.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. CICC Research reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of PepsiCo in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on PepsiCo from $184.00 to $178.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on PepsiCo from $183.00 to $165.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on PepsiCo from $153.00 to $168.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $170.59.

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.