Westchester Capital Management Inc. Has $1.77 Million Holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Westchester Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 4.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,622 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 453 shares during the quarter. PepsiCo makes up about 0.4% of Westchester Capital Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 28th largest position. Westchester Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $1,767,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Swedbank AB grew its position in shares of PepsiCo by 211.4% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 2,345,467 shares of the company’s stock valued at $398,847,000 after purchasing an additional 1,592,343 shares in the last quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 4,568 shares of the company’s stock valued at $777,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. raised its position in PepsiCo by 19.7% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 40,780 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,935,000 after purchasing an additional 6,704 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC lifted its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 53.0% in the 3rd quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC now owns 2,360 shares of the company’s stock valued at $401,000 after purchasing an additional 818 shares during the period. Finally, WCM Investment Management LLC increased its position in PepsiCo by 329.3% during the 3rd quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 5,933 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,009,000 after buying an additional 4,551 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on PEP shares. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on PepsiCo from $185.00 to $168.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. CICC Research reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Friday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on PepsiCo from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Evercore ISI cut their target price on PepsiCo from $180.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, BNP Paribas decreased their price objective on PepsiCo from $162.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, PepsiCo currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $172.35.

PepsiCo Price Performance

Shares of PEP opened at $152.33 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The stock has a market cap of $208.92 billion, a PE ratio of 21.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.52. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 1-year low of $141.51 and a 1-year high of $183.41. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $148.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $160.46.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.02. PepsiCo had a net margin of 10.43% and a return on equity of 58.87%. The business had revenue of $27.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $27.89 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.78 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 EPS for the current year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $1.355 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.56%. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is currently 77.99%.

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.