Hartford Investment Management Co. Trims Stock Position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Hartford Investment Management Co. lowered its position in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 1.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 84,761 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,508 shares during the period. Hartford Investment Management Co.’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $12,889,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 9.2% during the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 99,785 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,968,000 after buying an additional 8,406 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 valued at $259,350,000 after acquiring an additional 870,451 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in PepsiCo by 11.0% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 350,225 shares of the company’s stock worth $59,549,000 after acquiring an additional 34,633 shares during the period. Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV grew its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 12.8% in the 4th quarter. Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 41,580 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,323,000 after purchasing an additional 4,712 shares during the last quarter. Finally, IHT Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 19.3% during the third quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 32,267 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,493,000 after purchasing an additional 5,220 shares during the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PepsiCo Price Performance

PEP stock opened at $145.64 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $199.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 52-week low of $141.51 and a 52-week high of $183.41. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $151.05 and its 200-day simple moving average is $163.87.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.02. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 58.87% and a net margin of 10.43%. The company had revenue of $27.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $27.89 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.78 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.34 EPS for the current year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $1.355 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.72%. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is 77.99%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $180.00 to $160.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. StockNews.com downgraded PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $184.00 to $178.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. BNP Paribas lowered their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $162.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their price target on PepsiCo from $183.00 to $160.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $171.47.

About PepsiCo

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.