SNS Financial Group LLC Lowers Stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

SNS Financial Group LLC reduced its stake in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 2.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,289 shares of the company’s stock after selling 86 shares during the quarter. SNS Financial Group LLC’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $505,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PEP. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in PepsiCo in the third quarter worth about $28,000. Collier Financial bought a new position in PepsiCo in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its position in PepsiCo by 93.2% in the third quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 199 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on PEP shares. Citigroup dropped their target price on PepsiCo from $195.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on PepsiCo from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on PepsiCo from $183.00 to $165.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on PepsiCo from $184.00 to $178.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on PepsiCo from $185.00 to $168.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $171.47.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

NASDAQ PEP opened at $145.81 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $199.98 billion, a PE ratio of 20.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05. PepsiCo, Inc. has a twelve month low of $141.51 and a twelve month high of $183.41. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $149.16 and a 200-day simple moving average of $162.60.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $27.78 billion during 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 period in the prior year, the business posted $1.78 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.34 earnings per share for the current year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $1.355 per share. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.