PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) Shares Sold by Hennessy Advisors Inc.

Hennessy Advisors Inc. trimmed its holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 3.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 29,700 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,100 shares during the period. Hennessy Advisors Inc.’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $4,516,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Goldstone Financial Group LLC raised its position in PepsiCo by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Goldstone Financial Group LLC now owns 5,208 shares of the company’s stock worth $792,000 after buying an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new position in PepsiCo during the fourth quarter worth about $76,000. Occidental Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in PepsiCo by 9.7% in the 4th quarter. Occidental Asset Management LLC now owns 24,108 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,666,000 after purchasing an additional 2,133 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Asset Management LLC increased its position in PepsiCo by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Empirical Asset Management LLC now owns 34,939 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,313,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the period. Finally, Bennett Associates Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. Bennett Associates Wealth Management now owns 2,835 shares of the company’s stock worth $431,000 after buying an additional 164 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

PepsiCo Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of PEP stock opened at $148.25 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $155.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $165.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.70. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 1-year low of $141.51 and a 1-year high of $183.41. The firm has a market cap of $203.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.87, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.54.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 6th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th were issued a $1.355 dividend. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is currently 79.94%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PEP has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on PepsiCo from $170.00 to $155.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $177.00 to $176.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 4th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $193.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of PepsiCo from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $179.00 to $184.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on PepsiCo from $183.00 to $158.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, PepsiCo has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $178.60.

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.