PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) Shares Sold by Ritholtz Wealth Management

Ritholtz Wealth Management cut its stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 65.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 20,071 shares of the company’s stock after selling 37,370 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $3,409,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PEP. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in PepsiCo by 34.0% during the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 1,128,044 shares of the company’s stock valued at $188,812,000 after purchasing an additional 286,169 shares during the last quarter. AMI Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in PepsiCo by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. AMI Investment Management Inc. now owns 16,627 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,783,000 after buying an additional 113 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. increased its stake in PepsiCo by 29.3% during the 1st quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 5,562 shares of the company’s stock valued at $931,000 after buying an additional 1,262 shares during the period. Wsfs Capital Management LLC increased its stake in PepsiCo by 117.2% during the 1st quarter. Wsfs Capital Management LLC now owns 2,995 shares of the company’s stock valued at $501,000 after buying an additional 1,616 shares during the period. Finally, Equitable Holdings Inc. increased its stake in PepsiCo by 8.5% during the 1st quarter. Equitable Holdings Inc. now owns 26,909 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,504,000 after buying an additional 2,116 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

PepsiCo Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of PEP traded up $1.44 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $175.01. The stock had a trading volume of 5,710,410 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,942,093. PepsiCo, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $155.83 and a fifty-two week high of $196.88. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $168.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $167.99. The firm has a market cap of $240.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 9th. The company reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.72 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $27.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $28.40 billion. PepsiCo had a net margin of 9.92% and a return on equity of 58.03%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.67 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.15 EPS for the current year.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 1st will be issued a dividend of $1.265 per share. This represents a $5.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.89%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 29th. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.02%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on PEP shares. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $180.00 target price on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of PepsiCo from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $190.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, March 18th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $195.00 price objective on shares of PepsiCo in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Citigroup upgraded shares of PepsiCo from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $180.00 to $195.00 in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, PepsiCo has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $187.77.

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.