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

Close Asset Management Ltd cut its stake in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP - Free Report) by 23.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 25,115 shares of the company's stock after selling 7,501 shares during the period. Close Asset Management Ltd's holdings in PepsiCo were worth $3,766,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in PepsiCo by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 31,079,522 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,717,069,000 after acquiring an additional 582,254 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in PepsiCo during the 4th quarter worth $2,729,565,000. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in PepsiCo by 8.7% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 16,403,395 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,494,300,000 after purchasing an additional 1,306,818 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in PepsiCo by 0.4% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 14,062,857 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,108,585,000 after purchasing an additional 49,699 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in PepsiCo by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 13,748,403 shares of the company's stock worth $2,090,582,000 after buying an additional 727,087 shares in the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

PepsiCo Trading Up 3.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:PEP opened at $146.04 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.78. The stock's 50-day moving average is $132.23 and its 200-day moving average is $141.04. The company has a market cap of $199.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.60, a P/E/G ratio of 4.34 and a beta of 0.45. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 52-week low of $127.60 and a 52-week high of $180.91.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The company reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.09. PepsiCo had a net margin of 8.23% and a return on equity of 57.81%. The business had revenue of $22.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.28 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.28 EPS. PepsiCo's revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th were issued a $1.4225 dividend. This represents a $5.69 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 6th. This is a positive change from PepsiCo's previous quarterly dividend of $1.36. PepsiCo's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 103.64%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PEP has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Dbs Bank cut PepsiCo from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Evercore ISI set a $140.00 price objective on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and set a $148.00 target price on shares of PepsiCo in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $158.73.

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.

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