Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC Sells 911 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC lowered its stake in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 2.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 42,385 shares of the company’s stock after selling 911 shares during the period. PepsiCo accounts for 1.1% of Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 24th biggest position. Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $6,445,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in PEP. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 2,775,679 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in PepsiCo by 1.8% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 30,497,268 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,170,529,000 after purchasing an additional 543,558 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 18.1% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 25,217,043 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,834,504,000 after purchasing an additional 3,856,193 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of PepsiCo by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 14,013,158 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,130,841,000 after purchasing an additional 689,383 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake 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 buying an additional 2,264,445 shares during the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PepsiCo Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of PepsiCo stock opened at $148.34 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $148.78 and its 200 day moving average price is $160.29. PepsiCo, Inc. has a twelve month low of $141.51 and a twelve month high of $183.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $203.45 billion, a PE ratio of 21.34, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $27.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $27.89 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.78 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $1.355 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.65%. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is presently 77.99%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays raised their price target on PepsiCo from $153.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $195.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $171.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada initiated coverage on PepsiCo in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. They issued a $172.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group downgraded PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $171.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, PepsiCo currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $170.59.

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.