Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC Lowers Stock Position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC decreased its stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 0.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 113,945 shares of the company’s stock after selling 707 shares during the quarter. Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $19,352,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of PEP. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 18,423,845 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,121,736,000 after purchasing an additional 920,032 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 16,878,022 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,859,812,000 after acquiring an additional 595,357 shares in the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System grew its position in PepsiCo by 17.9% in the fourth quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 9,664,323 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,641,389,000 after acquiring an additional 1,470,064 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in shares of PepsiCo by 9.1% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,316,036 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,239,629,000 after purchasing an additional 608,321 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG grew its stake in PepsiCo by 2.1% in the third quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 6,774,800 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,147,922,000 after purchasing an additional 142,243 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

Shares of PEP stock traded up $0.70 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $176.15. 3,492,120 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,328,097. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $170.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $168.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.68. The company has a market cap of $242.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.52. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 12-month low of $155.83 and a 12-month high of $196.88.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.61 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $18.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.08 billion. PepsiCo had a net margin of 10.00% and a return on equity of 57.37%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.50 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be paid a $1.355 dividend. This represents a $5.42 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.08%. This is an increase from PepsiCo’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.27. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 7th. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 76.09%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on PEP. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $195.00 target price on shares of PepsiCo in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Citigroup upgraded shares of PepsiCo from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $180.00 to $195.00 in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $180.00 price target on shares of PepsiCo in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Barclays upped their price objective on PepsiCo from $184.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Argus downgraded shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $187.42.

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.