AQR Capital Management LLC Trims Stock Holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

AQR Capital Management LLC lowered its position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 0.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,394,493 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,717 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.10% of PepsiCo worth $212,047,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Collier Financial acquired a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PEP opened at $133.76 on Tuesday. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 1-year low of $131.80 and a 1-year high of $183.41. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $147.46 and a 200-day simple moving average of $153.37. The firm has a market cap of $183.43 billion, a PE ratio of 19.25, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.65.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.01). PepsiCo had a net margin of 10.43% and a return on equity of 58.87%. The company had revenue of $17.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.81 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.61 earnings per share. PepsiCo’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 EPS for the current year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a dividend of $1.355 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.42 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.05%. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is currently 79.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on PEP shares. Jefferies Financial Group lowered PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $171.00 to $170.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. HSBC reduced their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $186.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. StockNews.com cut shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. CICC Research reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $158.00 to $159.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, PepsiCo currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $160.69.

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.