Obermeyer Wood Investment Counsel Lllp Trims Position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Obermeyer Wood Investment Counsel Lllp cut its position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 1.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 111,622 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,103 shares during the period. PepsiCo comprises 1.3% of Obermeyer Wood Investment Counsel Lllp’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest holding. Obermeyer Wood Investment Counsel Lllp’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $18,958,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in PepsiCo by 95,514.1% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 42,876,248 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,746,023,000 after buying an additional 42,831,405 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in PepsiCo in the 4th quarter worth about $2,519,707,000. Morgan Stanley increased its stake in PepsiCo by 21.0% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 26,720,027 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,827,240,000 after buying an additional 4,629,947 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in PepsiCo by 9,623.6% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,058,061 shares of the company’s stock worth $519,381,000 after buying an additional 3,026,611 shares during the period. Finally, J.P. Morgan Private Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in PepsiCo in the 3rd quarter worth about $329,179,000. 73.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PepsiCo Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of PepsiCo stock traded up $2.79 on Thursday, reaching $172.27. The stock had a trading volume of 5,464,640 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,722,261. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $168.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $167.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $236.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 1 year low of $155.83 and a 1 year high of $196.88.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last released its earnings results on Friday, February 9th. The company reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.72 by $0.06. The company 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%. PepsiCo’s revenue for the quarter was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.67 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.15 EPS for the current year.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 1st were paid a $1.265 dividend. This represents a $5.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.94%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.02%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PEP has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Barclays raised their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $183.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Citigroup raised shares of PepsiCo from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $180.00 to $195.00 in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of PepsiCo from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $190.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 18th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Finally, Argus downgraded shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, PepsiCo has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $186.92.

PepsiCo Company 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.