Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD Has $844.21 Million Stock Position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD decreased its position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 42.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,551,807 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,028,510 shares during the quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD owned about 0.40% of PepsiCo worth $844,209,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PEP. Alta Advisers Ltd raised its stake in PepsiCo by 15.1% in the fourth quarter. Alta Advisers Ltd now owns 4,497 shares of the company’s stock valued at $684,000 after purchasing an additional 590 shares in the last quarter. Aldebaran Financial Inc. lifted its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 10.3% in the 4th quarter. Aldebaran Financial Inc. now owns 1,338 shares of the company’s stock valued at $203,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Harvest Investment Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 28.2% during the fourth quarter. Harvest Investment Services LLC now owns 2,734 shares of the company’s stock valued at $416,000 after purchasing an additional 601 shares in the last quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG grew its holdings in PepsiCo by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG now owns 361,136 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,914,000 after acquiring an additional 4,085 shares during the last quarter. Finally, OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in PepsiCo by 8.2% in the fourth quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 58,963 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,966,000 after purchasing an additional 4,452 shares during the period. 73.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

NASDAQ PEP opened at $142.27 on Thursday. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 52-week low of $138.33 and a 52-week high of $183.41. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $148.07 and a 200 day simple moving average of $154.40. The company has a market capitalization of $195.09 billion, a PE ratio of 20.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.49. 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 (NASDAQ:PEP) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $27.78 billion during 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.78 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 EPS for the current year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a $1.355 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.42 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.81%. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.99%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PEP has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Bank of America reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $155.00 price objective (down previously from $185.00) on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $163.00 target price on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Tuesday. HSBC cut their price target on PepsiCo from $186.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on PepsiCo from $158.00 to $159.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, PepsiCo has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $165.50.

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.