Calamos Advisors LLC Has $51.93 Million Position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Calamos Advisors LLC cut its stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP - Free Report) by 4.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 305,749 shares of the company's stock after selling 15,304 shares during the period. Calamos Advisors LLC's holdings in PepsiCo were worth $51,928,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA increased its holdings in PepsiCo by 80.5% in the fourth quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 157 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Life Planning Partners Inc purchased a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Avion Wealth increased its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 61.7% during the 4th quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 241 shares of the company's stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,000. Finally, Pacific Center for Financial Services purchased a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the 1st quarter worth approximately $47,000. 73.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PepsiCo Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of PEP traded up $2.79 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $172.27. The company had a trading volume of 5,573,781 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,722,261. The stock has a market cap of $236.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.53. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $168.55 and a 200-day simple moving average of $167.42. PepsiCo, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $155.83 and a fifty-two week high of $196.88. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 9th. The company reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.72 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $27.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $28.40 billion. PepsiCo had a net margin of 9.92% and a return on equity of 58.03%. PepsiCo's revenue for the quarter was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.67 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st were paid a $1.265 dividend. This represents a $5.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.94%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. PepsiCo's dividend payout ratio is presently 77.02%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PEP has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $183.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $180.00 target price on shares of PepsiCo in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $181.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. StockNews.com lowered shares of PepsiCo from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of PepsiCo from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $190.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 18th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $186.92.

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.