Advisors Asset Management Inc. Cuts Holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Advisors Asset Management Inc. lowered its stake in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 9.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 93,749 shares of the company’s stock after selling 10,006 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $14,255,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its position in PepsiCo by 12.8% during the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 122,510 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,767,000 after acquiring an additional 13,857 shares during the last quarter. South Street Advisors LLC boosted its position in PepsiCo by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. South Street Advisors LLC now owns 75,125 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,424,000 after acquiring an additional 490 shares during the last quarter. Mystic Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in PepsiCo by 40.2% during the fourth quarter. Mystic Asset Management Inc. now owns 22,951 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,490,000 after acquiring an additional 6,579 shares during the last quarter. Leelyn Smith LLC boosted its position in PepsiCo by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Leelyn Smith LLC now owns 16,686 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,537,000 after acquiring an additional 318 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dopkins Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in PepsiCo during the fourth quarter worth about $263,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

PepsiCo Price Performance

Shares of PEP opened at $151.34 on Tuesday. PepsiCo, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $141.51 and a fifty-two week high of $183.41. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $148.86 and its 200 day moving average price is $159.75. The company has a market cap of $207.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.78, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last announced 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. PepsiCo had a net margin of 10.43% and a return on equity of 58.87%. The firm had revenue of $27.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $27.89 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.78 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a $1.355 dividend. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.58%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is presently 77.99%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on PEP shares. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $180.00 to $160.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $183.00 to $165.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $193.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $183.00 to $160.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus 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.