Mengis Capital Management Inc. Sells 2,595 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Mengis Capital Management Inc. decreased its holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 6.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 35,061 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,595 shares during the quarter. PepsiCo comprises approximately 1.1% of Mengis Capital Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest position. Mengis Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $5,331,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PEP. AMF Tjanstepension AB lifted its stake in PepsiCo by 15.8% in the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 293,824 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,016,000 after acquiring an additional 40,031 shares during the period. Swedbank AB lifted its stake in PepsiCo by 211.4% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 2,345,467 shares of the company’s stock worth $398,847,000 after acquiring an additional 1,592,343 shares during the period. Howard Capital Management Group LLC lifted its stake in PepsiCo by 2.0% in the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 4,568 shares of the company’s stock worth $777,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the period. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. lifted its position in PepsiCo by 18.1% during the third quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 24,071 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,093,000 after buying an additional 3,688 shares during the period. Finally, Peterson Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in PepsiCo during the third quarter valued at $204,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on PEP. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on PepsiCo from $185.00 to $168.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on PepsiCo from $195.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Royal Bank of Canada began coverage on PepsiCo in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. They set a $172.00 price objective for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on PepsiCo from $184.00 to $178.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, BNP Paribas lowered their price objective on PepsiCo from $162.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, PepsiCo has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $171.47.

PepsiCo Price Performance

NASDAQ PEP opened at $153.85 on Tuesday. PepsiCo, Inc. has a one year low of $141.51 and a one year high of $183.41. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $148.61 and a 200 day moving average of $161.98. The company has a market capitalization of $211.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.14, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.82.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.02. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 58.87% and a net margin of 10.43%. The company had revenue of $27.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $27.89 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.78 EPS. PepsiCo’s revenue for the quarter was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 EPS for the current year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $1.355 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.52%. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.99%.

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.