River Road Asset Management LLC Sells 2,066 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

River Road Asset Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 2.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 83,241 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,066 shares during the period. River Road Asset Management LLC’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $14,138,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of PEP. Proquility Private Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in PepsiCo by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Proquility Private Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,260 shares of the company’s stock valued at $950,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Amplius Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in PepsiCo by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Amplius Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,241 shares of the company’s stock valued at $381,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in PepsiCo by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,345 shares of the company’s stock valued at $397,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in PepsiCo by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,420 shares of the company’s stock valued at $411,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cassia Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Cassia Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,143 shares of the company’s stock worth $702,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

Shares of PepsiCo stock opened at $169.48 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $168.58 and a 200 day moving average of $167.38. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 12 month low of $155.83 and a 12 month high of $196.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $232.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.68.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 9th. The company reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.72 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $27.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $28.40 billion. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 58.03% and a net margin of 9.92%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.67 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.15 earnings per share for the current year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st were paid a $1.265 dividend. This represents a $5.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is presently 77.02%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on PEP shares. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $180.00 target price on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on PepsiCo from $199.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $195.00 target price on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Barclays raised their target price on PepsiCo from $183.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded PepsiCo from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $190.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, March 18th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $186.92.

PepsiCo Company 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.