WestEnd Advisors LLC Sells 31,664 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

WestEnd Advisors LLC lessened its stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 14.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 195,281 shares of the company’s stock after selling 31,664 shares during the period. WestEnd Advisors LLC’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $29,694,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 17,113.0% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,220,385 shares of the company’s stock worth $547,626,000 after acquiring an additional 3,201,676 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in PepsiCo by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 57,268,030 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,738,429,000 after purchasing an additional 2,775,679 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in PepsiCo by 21.1% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 13,021,316 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,293,049,000 after purchasing an additional 2,264,445 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB raised its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 211.4% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 2,345,467 shares of the company’s stock worth $398,847,000 after buying an additional 1,592,343 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 5.6% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 21,360,850 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,632,413,000 after buying an additional 1,125,059 shares during the period. 73.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

PepsiCo Price Performance

PepsiCo stock opened at $144.58 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 0.82. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $151.42 and its 200 day moving average price is $164.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $198.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.54. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 1 year low of $141.51 and a 1 year high of $183.41.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last released its quarterly 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $27.89 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.78 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 given a dividend of $1.355 per share. This represents a $5.42 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is 77.99%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on PEP shares. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on PepsiCo from $185.00 to $168.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on PepsiCo from $184.00 to $178.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada started coverage on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. They issued a $172.00 price target on the stock. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $158.00 to $153.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Finally, CICC Research reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, PepsiCo presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $171.47.

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.