Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. Reduces Stock Holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. trimmed its position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 17.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,058,359 shares of the company’s stock after selling 230,275 shares during the quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned about 0.08% of PepsiCo worth $160,934,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Collier Financial purchased a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PepsiCo during the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC acquired a new position in PepsiCo in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in PepsiCo in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Human Investing LLC acquired a new stake in PepsiCo during the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on PEP shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. CICC Research reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Friday, February 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on PepsiCo from $184.00 to $178.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on PepsiCo from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada initiated coverage on PepsiCo in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. They issued a $172.00 price objective for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, PepsiCo has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $169.88.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

Shares of PEP stock opened at $149.67 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. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 12-month low of $141.51 and a 12-month high of $183.41. The company has a market cap of $205.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.52. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $149.23 and a 200-day simple moving average of $158.37.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.02. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 58.87% and a net margin of 10.43%. The company had revenue of $27.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $27.89 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.78 earnings per share. PepsiCo’s quarterly revenue was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 EPS for the current year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $1.355 per share. This represents a $5.42 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.62%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.99%.

PepsiCo 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.