Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas Trims Position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas reduced its stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 3.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 230,331 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,438 shares during the period. PepsiCo comprises about 2.0% of Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas’ portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas’ holdings in PepsiCo were worth $35,024,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the second quarter worth $4,123,000. Scientech Research LLC bought a new stake in shares of PepsiCo during the 2nd quarter valued at about $325,000. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 9.6% during the 2nd quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC now owns 183,456 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,257,000 after acquiring an additional 16,018 shares during the last quarter. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group raised its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 13.8% in the second quarter. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group now owns 6,674 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,101,000 after buying an additional 808 shares during the period. Finally, Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 2.5% in the second quarter. Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC now owns 38,329 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,322,000 after purchasing an additional 940 shares in the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $193.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. StockNews.com raised PepsiCo from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $190.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Barclays decreased their price objective on PepsiCo from $183.00 to $158.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised PepsiCo to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $177.00.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

PEP opened at $149.12 on Friday. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 1-year low of $141.51 and a 1-year high of $183.41. The stock has a market cap of $204.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.54. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $153.88 and its 200 day simple moving average is $165.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.70.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th were given a dividend of $1.355 per share. This represents a $5.42 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is 79.94%.

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.