Sentry Investment Management LLC Sells 944 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Sentry Investment Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 14.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,431 shares of the company’s stock after selling 944 shares during the quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $826,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

PepsiCo Price Performance

Shares of PEP opened at $153.85 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $148.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $161.98. The company has a market capitalization of $211.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.14, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.54. PepsiCo, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $141.51 and a fifty-two week high of $183.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.82.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 analyst estimates of $27.89 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.78 earnings per share. PepsiCo’s revenue for the quarter was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 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 paid a $1.355 dividend. This represents a $5.42 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.52%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.99%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on PEP. Barclays reduced their price target on PepsiCo from $158.00 to $153.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Citigroup decreased their price target on PepsiCo from $195.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on PepsiCo from $185.00 to $168.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $193.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, BNP Paribas dropped their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $162.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $171.47.

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.