Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC Sells 1,200 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC decreased its holdings in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 11.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 9,011 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,200 shares during the period. Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $1,370,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 9.2% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 99,785 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,968,000 after buying an additional 8,406 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 104.2% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,705,574 shares of the company’s stock valued at $259,350,000 after buying an additional 870,451 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 11.0% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 350,225 shares of the company’s stock valued at $59,549,000 after buying an additional 34,633 shares during the period. Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV grew its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 12.8% in the 4th quarter. Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 41,580 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,323,000 after buying an additional 4,712 shares during the period. Finally, IHT Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 19.3% in the 3rd quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 32,267 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,493,000 after buying an additional 5,220 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PEP has been the subject of several research analyst reports. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $193.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $158.00 to $153.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $184.00 to $178.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $183.00 to $160.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $195.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, PepsiCo has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $171.47.

PepsiCo Stock Up 2.3 %

Shares of PEP stock opened at $149.10 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.82. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $148.94 and its 200-day moving average is $162.49. The stock has a market cap of $204.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.45, a PEG ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.54. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 52-week low of $141.51 and a 52-week high of $183.41.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $27.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $27.89 billion. PepsiCo had a net margin of 10.43% and a return on equity of 58.87%. PepsiCo’s quarterly revenue was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.78 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.31 EPS for the current year.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $1.355 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.42 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.64%. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.99%.

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.