BLB&B Advisors LLC Lowers Stock Position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

BLB&B Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 6.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 24,150 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,602 shares during the period. BLB&B Advisors LLC’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $3,672,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of PEP. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the 4th quarter worth $514,000. Centerline Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in PepsiCo in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,655,000. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of PepsiCo by 20.4% during the 4th quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 3,022 shares of the company’s stock valued at $460,000 after acquiring an additional 513 shares during the period. Fairvoy Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PepsiCo during the 4th quarter worth approximately $670,000. Finally, Keystone Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in PepsiCo in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $69,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on PEP. StockNews.com cut PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $185.00 to $168.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on PepsiCo from $180.00 to $160.00 in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on PepsiCo from $195.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $171.47.

PepsiCo Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of PEP opened at $144.58 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $151.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $164.26. PepsiCo, Inc. has a twelve month low of $141.51 and a twelve month high of $183.41. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $198.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.54.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.02. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 58.87% and a net margin of 10.43%. The business had revenue of $27.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $27.89 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.78 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.34 earnings per share 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 dividend of $1.355 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.42 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.75%. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is 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.