Ethic Inc. Cuts Position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Ethic Inc. trimmed its holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP - Free Report) by 13.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 78,551 shares of the company's stock after selling 12,607 shares during the quarter. Ethic Inc.'s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $11,944,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of PEP. Legacy Private Trust Co. raised its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 73.4% during the 4th quarter. Legacy Private Trust Co. now owns 8,415 shares of the company's stock worth $1,280,000 after buying an additional 3,561 shares during the last quarter. Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV grew its stake in PepsiCo by 12.8% during the 4th quarter. Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 41,580 shares of the company's stock worth $6,323,000 after buying an additional 4,712 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 16.7% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,166,089 shares of the company's stock worth $177,315,000 after purchasing an additional 167,122 shares in the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. boosted its stake in PepsiCo by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 77,192 shares of the company's stock valued at $11,738,000 after buying an additional 2,235 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CCM Investment Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. CCM Investment Advisers LLC now owns 69,178 shares of the company's stock valued at $10,519,000 after purchasing an additional 382 shares during the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and set a $163.00 price objective on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on PepsiCo from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Evercore ISI set a $140.00 price objective on PepsiCo in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. CICC Research reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective on PepsiCo from $175.00 to $169.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, PepsiCo currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $160.69.

PepsiCo Stock Up 1.0%

PEP stock traded up $1.24 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $131.68. 8,379,812 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,297,458. The stock has a market cap of $180.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.95, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05. PepsiCo, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $129.93 and a fifty-two week high of $183.41. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $143.73 and its 200 day moving average price is $150.74.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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 return on equity of 58.87% and a net margin of 10.43%. PepsiCo's quarterly revenue was down 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.61 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be issued a dividend of $1.4225 per share. This is a boost from PepsiCo's previous quarterly dividend of $1.36. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $5.69 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.32%. PepsiCo's payout ratio is presently 83.68%.

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.