Cottage Street Advisors LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Cottage Street Advisors LLC reduced its position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 6.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,711 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,356 shares during the quarter. PepsiCo accounts for about 1.5% of Cottage Street Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Cottage Street Advisors LLC’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $2,845,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of PEP. Collier Financial bought a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the third quarter worth $31,000. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC purchased a new position in PepsiCo in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in PepsiCo in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Human Investing LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PepsiCo during the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on the company. CICC Research reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Friday, February 7th. Barclays lowered shares of PepsiCo from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their target price for the company from $168.00 to $156.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Royal Bank of Canada started coverage on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. They issued a $172.00 target price on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $184.00 to $178.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on PepsiCo from $183.00 to $165.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $169.88.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

Shares of PEP stock opened at $145.54 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $199.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.94, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.52. 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, Inc. has a 1 year low of $141.51 and a 1 year high of $183.41. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $149.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $158.50.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $27.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $27.89 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.78 EPS. PepsiCo’s revenue for the quarter was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current year.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $1.355 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.42 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.72%. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.99%.

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.