Pacer Advisors Inc. Reduces Holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Key Points

• Pacer Advisors Inc. reduced its holdings in PepsiCo shares by 23.5%, owning 146,207 shares valued at approximately $21.9 million after selling 44,963 shares in the first quarter.
• Wells Fargo raised its price target for PepsiCo to $154.00, while analysts maintain a consensus rating of "Hold" with a target price of $158.73.
• PepsiCo announced a quarterly dividend of $1.4225 per share, yielding 3.97%, with the ex-dividend date set for September 5th.

Pacer Advisors Inc. lessened its position in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP - Free Report) by 23.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 146,207 shares of the company's stock after selling 44,963 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc.'s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $21,922,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in PEP. Lokken Investment Group LLC increased its position in shares of PepsiCo by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Lokken Investment Group LLC now owns 7,699 shares of the company's stock worth $1,171,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the period. Legacy Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of PepsiCo by 4.9% during the first quarter. Legacy Financial Group LLC now owns 1,514 shares of the company's stock worth $227,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the period. Pflug Koory LLC increased its position in shares of PepsiCo by 1.0% during the first quarter. Pflug Koory LLC now owns 7,750 shares of the company's stock worth $1,162,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the period. Hoge Financial Services LLC increased its position in shares of PepsiCo by 2.1% during the first quarter. Hoge Financial Services LLC now owns 3,633 shares of the company's stock worth $545,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the period. Finally, Members Trust Co increased its position in shares of PepsiCo by 1.3% during the first quarter. Members Trust Co now owns 5,941 shares of the company's stock worth $891,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 73.07% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on PEP shares. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $132.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $150.00 to $139.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Cowen restated a "hold" rating on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Dbs Bank cut shares of PepsiCo from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $175.00 to $169.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, PepsiCo presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $158.73.

PepsiCo Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:PEP traded down $1.06 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $143.45. The company's stock had a trading volume of 6,596,497 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,334,833. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $133.58 and a 200-day moving average of $140.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $196.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.13, a PEG ratio of 3.82 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 12-month low of $127.60 and a 12-month high of $180.91.

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

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be paid a $1.4225 dividend. This represents a $5.69 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. PepsiCo's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 103.64%.

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.