IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd Reduces Holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd cut its position in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 3.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 86,404 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,640 shares during the quarter. PepsiCo accounts for 1.6% of IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $13,139,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in PepsiCo during the fourth quarter worth about $589,307,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 18.1% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 25,217,043 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,834,504,000 after buying an additional 3,856,193 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of PepsiCo by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 57,268,030 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,738,429,000 after buying an additional 2,775,679 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in PepsiCo by 21.1% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 13,021,316 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,293,049,000 after buying an additional 2,264,445 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in PepsiCo by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 133,371,504 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,280,471,000 after acquiring an additional 1,376,133 shares in the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on PEP. StockNews.com downgraded shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. HSBC decreased their price target on PepsiCo from $186.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on PepsiCo from $180.00 to $160.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Barclays cut PepsiCo from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $168.00 to $156.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, 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 research report on Thursday, January 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, PepsiCo presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $169.88.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

PEP stock opened at $148.64 on Thursday. PepsiCo, Inc. has a twelve month low of $141.51 and a twelve month 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 company has a market cap of $203.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.52. The business’s fifty day moving average is $149.16 and its 200-day moving average is $158.43.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $27.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $27.89 billion. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 58.87% and a net margin of 10.43%. The company’s revenue was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.78 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 EPS for the current year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $1.355 dividend. This represents a $5.42 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.65%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is presently 77.99%.

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.