Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC Sells 2,539 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 2.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 89,144 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,539 shares during the period. PepsiCo comprises approximately 0.9% of Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $13,555,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Collier Financial bought a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the third quarter worth approximately $31,000. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Human Investing LLC bought a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,000. 73.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on PEP shares. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $171.00 to $170.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Evercore ISI cut their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $180.00 to $160.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on PepsiCo from $183.00 to $165.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Barclays lowered PepsiCo from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $168.00 to $156.00 in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, StockNews.com lowered PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $169.88.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

Shares of PepsiCo stock opened at $145.45 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $199.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.93, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.52. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $149.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $159.22. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 12 month low of $141.51 and a 12 month high of $183.41.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $27.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $27.89 billion. PepsiCo had a net margin of 10.43% and a return on equity of 58.87%. PepsiCo’s revenue was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.78 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 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 paid a $1.355 dividend. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.73%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is 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.