QRG Capital Management Inc. Reduces Holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

QRG Capital Management Inc. trimmed its stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 3.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 168,720 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,910 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $25,656,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp grew its position in PepsiCo by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 57,268,030 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,738,429,000 after purchasing an additional 2,775,679 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in PepsiCo by 21.1% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 13,021,316 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,293,049,000 after purchasing an additional 2,264,445 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB grew its position in PepsiCo by 211.4% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 2,345,467 shares of the company’s stock worth $398,847,000 after purchasing an additional 1,592,343 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in PepsiCo by 360.0% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,697,742 shares of the company’s stock worth $258,158,000 after purchasing an additional 1,328,672 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vontobel Holding Ltd. grew its position in PepsiCo by 62.4% during the 4th quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 3,014,101 shares of the company’s stock worth $458,324,000 after purchasing an additional 1,157,835 shares during the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on PEP. BNP Paribas lowered their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $162.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $183.00 to $165.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $185.00 to $168.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $158.00 to $153.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $193.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $171.47.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

Shares of PEP opened at $151.51 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05. The stock has a market cap of $207.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.80, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a 50-day moving average of $148.56 and a two-hundred day moving average of $161.80. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 12-month low of $141.51 and a 12-month high of $183.41.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $27.78 billion during 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%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.78 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $1.355 per share. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. PepsiCo’s 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.