PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) Shares Sold by Charter Research & Investment Group Inc.

Charter Research & Investment Group Inc. reduced its position in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 1.8% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 29,570 shares of the company’s stock after selling 542 shares during the period. PepsiCo comprises about 3.4% of Charter Research & Investment Group Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 5th largest position. Charter Research & Investment Group Inc.’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $4,496,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of PEP. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 15.2% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 4,516,146 shares of the company’s stock valued at $686,725,000 after buying an additional 595,257 shares in the last quarter. American Money Management LLC boosted its stake in PepsiCo by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. American Money Management LLC now owns 26,873 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,086,000 after acquiring an additional 738 shares in the last quarter. BlueChip Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. BlueChip Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,735 shares of the company’s stock worth $416,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. Allianz SE purchased a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the 4th quarter valued at about $6,686,000. Finally, Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of PepsiCo by 12.9% in the 4th quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 6,141 shares of the company’s stock valued at $934,000 after purchasing an additional 703 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

PepsiCo Stock Down 0.3 %

PEP stock opened at $149.27 on Friday. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 52 week low of $141.51 and a 52 week high of $183.41. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05. The company has a market cap of $204.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.48, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.52. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $149.25 and its 200 day moving average price is $158.03.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $27.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $27.89 billion. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 58.87% and a net margin of 10.43%. PepsiCo’s quarterly revenue was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.78 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a $1.355 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.42 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.63%. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is presently 77.99%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Citigroup reduced their price objective on PepsiCo from $195.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Barclays downgraded shares of PepsiCo from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $168.00 to $156.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $183.00 to $160.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $180.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on PepsiCo from $185.00 to $168.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $169.88.

About PepsiCo

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.