Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. Sells 19,806 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. lessened its holdings in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 9.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 188,159 shares of the company’s stock after selling 19,806 shares during the period. Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S.’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $31,996,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Meixler Investment Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in PepsiCo by 4.4% in the 2nd quarter. Meixler Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,383 shares of the company’s stock valued at $228,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. Opes Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in PepsiCo by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. Opes Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,748 shares of the company’s stock worth $453,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates raised its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 59.0% in the 3rd quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 159 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Stockton boosted its position in shares of PepsiCo by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of Stockton now owns 2,716 shares of the company’s stock valued at $448,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oxbow Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 0.7% during the second quarter. Oxbow Advisors LLC now owns 8,982 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,481,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on PEP. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of PepsiCo to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. TD Cowen cut PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $190.00 to $183.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Morgan Stanley cut PepsiCo from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $185.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Friday, September 20th. StockNews.com raised PepsiCo from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Bank of America cut their target price on PepsiCo from $190.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, PepsiCo presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $183.92.

PepsiCo Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of PepsiCo stock traded up $1.05 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $163.05. 8,580,393 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,500,764. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $168.73 and a 200-day moving average of $170.78. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 12 month low of $155.85 and a 12 month high of $183.41. The company has a market cap of $223.70 billion, a PE ratio of 24.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 0.89.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 8th. The company reported $2.31 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.01. PepsiCo had a net margin of 10.18% and a return on equity of 57.32%. The firm had revenue of $23.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $23.86 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.25 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be given a $1.355 dividend. This represents a $5.42 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.32%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is currently 79.94%.

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.