Principal Securities Inc. Cuts Position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Principal Securities Inc. reduced its position in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 7.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 23,788 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,927 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc.’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $3,617,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of PEP. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in PepsiCo by 9.2% during the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 99,785 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,968,000 after purchasing an additional 8,406 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in PepsiCo by 104.2% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,705,574 shares of the company’s stock worth $259,350,000 after buying an additional 870,451 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in PepsiCo by 11.0% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 350,225 shares of the company’s stock valued at $59,549,000 after buying an additional 34,633 shares during the period. Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV grew its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 12.8% in the fourth quarter. Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 41,580 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,323,000 after acquiring an additional 4,712 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IHT Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 19.3% in the third quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 32,267 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,493,000 after acquiring an additional 5,220 shares in the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Evercore ISI cut their price target on PepsiCo from $180.00 to $160.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Royal Bank of Canada initiated coverage on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. They issued a $172.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $185.00 to $168.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. CICC Research restated a “market perform” rating on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler started coverage on PepsiCo in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $171.00 target price on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $171.47.

PepsiCo Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of PepsiCo stock opened at $143.39 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 0.82. The company has a market capitalization of $196.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.63, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.54. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 1 year low of $141.51 and a 1 year high of $183.41. The company’s fifty day moving average is $149.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $163.13.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.02. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 58.87% and a net margin of 10.43%. The firm had revenue of $27.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $27.89 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.78 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.34 earnings per share for the current year.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a $1.355 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.78%. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.