Optimum Investment Advisors Sells 1,140 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Optimum Investment Advisors lessened its stake in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 28.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,847 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,140 shares during the quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors’ holdings in PepsiCo were worth $433,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Collier Financial bought a new position in PepsiCo in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in PepsiCo during the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in PepsiCo in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Human Investing LLC bought a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. 73.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PEP has been the subject of a number of research reports. BNP Paribas lowered their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $162.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. UBS Group dropped their target price on PepsiCo from $193.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on PepsiCo from $184.00 to $178.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on PepsiCo from $185.00 to $168.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, PepsiCo has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $169.88.

PepsiCo Trading Down 1.2 %

NASDAQ:PEP opened at $145.45 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $149.04 and its 200-day simple moving average is $159.09. PepsiCo, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $141.51 and a fifty-two week high of $183.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $199.48 billion, a PE ratio of 20.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.52.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $27.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $27.89 billion. PepsiCo had a net margin of 10.43% and a return on equity of 58.87%. The firm’s revenue was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.78 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 given a dividend of $1.355 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.42 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.73%. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.99%.

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.