Trust Investment Advisors Lowers Stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Trust Investment Advisors lessened its holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 47.1% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 4,358 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,877 shares during the quarter. Trust Investment Advisors’ holdings in PepsiCo were worth $663,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of PEP. Collier Financial acquired a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC purchased a new position in PepsiCo in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PepsiCo during the third quarter worth $31,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Human Investing LLC purchased a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

PepsiCo Price Performance

PEP stock opened at $145.54 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $199.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.94, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.52. PepsiCo, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $141.51 and a fifty-two week high of $183.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $149.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $158.50.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.02. PepsiCo had a net margin of 10.43% and a return on equity of 58.87%. The firm had revenue of $27.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $27.89 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.78 EPS. The company’s revenue was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate 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 issued a $1.355 dividend. This represents a $5.42 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.72%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is currently 77.99%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com lowered PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on PepsiCo from $184.00 to $178.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $171.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $183.00 to $160.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $169.88.

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.