River Road Asset Management LLC Cuts Holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

River Road Asset Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 15.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 50,515 shares of the company’s stock after selling 9,572 shares during the period. River Road Asset Management LLC’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $7,681,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Paulson Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in PepsiCo by 2.1% in the third quarter. Paulson Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,986 shares of the company’s stock valued at $508,000 after buying an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Tcfg Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in PepsiCo by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Tcfg Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,938 shares of the company’s stock worth $295,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. BIP Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in PepsiCo by 1.9% in the third quarter. BIP Wealth LLC now owns 3,601 shares of the company’s stock valued at $612,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Lincoln Capital LLC raised its holdings in PepsiCo by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Lincoln Capital LLC now owns 16,808 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,556,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of PepsiCo by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Marshall Financial Group LLC now owns 3,128 shares of the company’s stock worth $476,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $183.00 to $160.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. StockNews.com downgraded PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on PepsiCo from $184.00 to $178.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $180.00 to $160.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target on PepsiCo from $193.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $172.35.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

PepsiCo stock opened at $152.33 on Wednesday. PepsiCo, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $141.51 and a fifty-two week high of $183.41. The company has a market capitalization of $208.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.92, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.52. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $148.90 and a two-hundred day moving average of $160.46. 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 (NASDAQ:PEP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $27.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $27.89 billion. PepsiCo had a net margin of 10.43% and a return on equity of 58.87%. PepsiCo’s revenue for the quarter was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.78 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $1.355 per share. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is 77.99%.

PepsiCo Company 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.