PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) Stake Reduced by Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc.

Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc. trimmed its position in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 26.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 37,894 shares of the company’s stock after selling 13,962 shares during the quarter. PepsiCo comprises about 3.1% of Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc.’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $6,436,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Apollon Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 31.1% in the fourth quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 60,113 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,210,000 after buying an additional 14,268 shares during the last quarter. Lincoln National Corp boosted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 47.1% in the fourth quarter. Lincoln National Corp now owns 46,655 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,924,000 after buying an additional 14,946 shares during the last quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System boosted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 107,257 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,217,000 after buying an additional 1,142 shares during the last quarter. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in PepsiCo during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,093,000. Finally, Spire Wealth Management raised its stake in PepsiCo by 8.0% during the 4th quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 54,461 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,029,000 after acquiring an additional 4,022 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on PEP. Argus cut shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. StockNews.com cut shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $180.00 price objective on shares of PepsiCo in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $199.00 to $209.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $195.00 price objective on shares of PepsiCo in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $187.42.

PepsiCo Price Performance

PEP traded down $0.33 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $175.82. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,576,177 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,716,585. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $170.30 and its 200-day moving average price is $168.57. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 12 month low of $155.83 and a 12 month high of $196.88. The stock has a market cap of $241.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.52. 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 (NASDAQ:PEP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.61 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $18.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.08 billion. PepsiCo had a net margin of 10.00% and a return on equity of 57.37%. PepsiCo’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.50 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be issued a $1.355 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 7th. This is an increase from PepsiCo’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.27. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.08%. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is currently 76.09%.

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.