JARISLOWSKY FRASER Ltd Cuts Position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

JARISLOWSKY FRASER Ltd trimmed its stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP - Free Report) by 3.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,353,630 shares of the company's stock after selling 44,171 shares during the quarter. JARISLOWSKY FRASER Ltd owned approximately 0.10% of PepsiCo worth $204,486,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of PEP. Ossiam raised its position in shares of PepsiCo by 138.9% during the fourth quarter. Ossiam now owns 73,604 shares of the company's stock worth $11,192,000 after purchasing an additional 42,793 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in PepsiCo by 104.2% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,705,574 shares of the company's stock worth $259,350,000 after purchasing an additional 870,451 shares during the last quarter. Hutner Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 14.6% during the 4th quarter. Hutner Capital Management Inc. now owns 53,783 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,178,000 after buying an additional 6,865 shares during the last quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD increased its holdings in PepsiCo by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD now owns 1,236,788 shares of the company's stock worth $188,031,000 after buying an additional 61,541 shares during the last quarter. Finally, WCM Investment Management LLC boosted its position in PepsiCo by 147.6% during the fourth quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 14,692 shares of the company's stock worth $2,229,000 after purchasing an additional 8,759 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 73.07% of the company's stock.

PepsiCo Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of PepsiCo stock traded down $0.72 on Tuesday, reaching $130.96. 1,835,103 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,281,570. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.82. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 52 week low of $129.80 and a 52 week high of $183.41. The firm's 50-day moving average is $143.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $150.46. The company has a market capitalization of $179.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.47.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.48 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.49 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $17.92 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.81 billion. PepsiCo had a net margin of 10.43% and a return on equity of 58.87%. The company's revenue was down 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.61 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be paid a dividend of $1.4225 per share. This is an increase from PepsiCo's previous quarterly dividend of $1.36. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $5.69 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.34%. PepsiCo's dividend payout ratio is presently 83.68%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of PepsiCo from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $171.00 to $170.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $158.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Barclays cut their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $143.00 to $135.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 28th. UBS Group lowered their price target on PepsiCo from $175.00 to $169.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, PepsiCo currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $160.69.

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.