Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. Cuts Position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. reduced its position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 0.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 307,734 shares of the company’s stock after selling 467 shares during the quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc.’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $46,794,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital Advantage Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the 4th quarter valued at $693,000. Centiva Capital LP grew its position in PepsiCo by 1,432.9% during the 4th quarter. Centiva Capital LP now owns 23,539 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,579,000 after acquiring an additional 25,305 shares during the last quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 11.9% in the fourth quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 121,061 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,409,000 after purchasing an additional 12,903 shares during the last quarter. Brooks Moore & Associates Inc. raised its holdings in PepsiCo by 10.1% during the 4th quarter. Brooks Moore & Associates Inc. now owns 25,336 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,853,000 after buying an additional 2,325 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brevan Howard Capital Management LP bought a new stake in PepsiCo in the 4th quarter worth $4,492,000. 73.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Barclays cut their price objective on PepsiCo from $143.00 to $135.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $155.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. UBS Group dropped their price target on PepsiCo from $175.00 to $169.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 25th. BNP Paribas decreased their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $162.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, HSBC decreased their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $186.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, PepsiCo presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $160.69.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PEP opened at $131.99 on Tuesday. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 1 year low of $131.52 and a 1 year 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 cap of $180.97 billion, a PE ratio of 18.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.47. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $145.55 and a 200-day moving average price of $151.92.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.49 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $17.92 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.81 billion. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 58.87% and a net margin of 10.43%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.61 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were given a dividend of $1.355 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.11%. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is currently 79.71%.

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.