PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) Shares Sold by Meridian Wealth Partners LLC

Meridian Wealth Partners LLC lessened its stake in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 7.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,081 shares of the company’s stock after selling 164 shares during the quarter. Meridian Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $353,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in PepsiCo by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 18,423,845 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,121,736,000 after acquiring an additional 920,032 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 3.7% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 16,878,022 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,859,812,000 after purchasing an additional 595,357 shares in the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System increased its stake in PepsiCo by 17.9% during the 4th quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 9,664,323 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,641,389,000 after buying an additional 1,470,064 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in 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 buying an additional 608,321 shares during the period. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG grew its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 142,243 shares in the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

PepsiCo Stock Down 0.6 %

NASDAQ:PEP traded down $1.10 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $175.58. 4,472,102 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,365,961. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96. PepsiCo, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $155.83 and a fifty-two week high of $196.88. The company has a market capitalization of $241.39 billion, a PE ratio of 26.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $169.40 and a 200 day simple moving average of $167.88.

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

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st were given a dividend of $1.265 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $5.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.88%. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 76.09%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com lowered PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $180.00 target price on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $199.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $178.00 to $181.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of PepsiCo from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $180.00 to $195.00 in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $187.42.

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.