Harvey Investment Co. LLC Reduces Stock Position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Harvey Investment Co. LLC lowered its position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 0.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 93,454 shares of the company’s stock after selling 390 shares during the quarter. PepsiCo accounts for approximately 1.6% of Harvey Investment Co. LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Harvey Investment Co. LLC’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $14,211,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of PEP. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in PepsiCo during the third quarter worth $28,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in PepsiCo during the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its stake in PepsiCo by 93.2% in the 3rd quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 199 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PepsiCo during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, ORG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PepsiCo during the third quarter worth about $44,000. 73.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PEP has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. CICC Research reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Friday. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $193.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $158.00 to $153.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on PepsiCo from $185.00 to $168.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on PepsiCo from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. One investment 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, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $171.47.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

PepsiCo stock opened at $145.35 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $151.80 and its 200 day moving average price is $164.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.70. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 12-month low of $141.51 and a 12-month high of $183.41. The company has a market capitalization of $199.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.54.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.02. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 57.32% and a net margin of 10.18%. The company had revenue of $27.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $27.89 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.78 earnings per share. PepsiCo’s quarterly revenue was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a $1.355 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.42 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.73%. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.