Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC Reduces Stock Position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC cut its stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 3.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,570 shares of the company’s stock after selling 174 shares during the quarter. Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $946,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Pacifica Partners Inc. bought a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. West Tower Group LLC bought a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $36,000. VitalStone Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $46,000. Finally, Pacific Center for Financial Services bought a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the 1st quarter worth approximately $47,000. 73.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $195.00 price objective on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of PepsiCo from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $190.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $181.00 to $184.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $179.00 to $183.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $180.00 price objective on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $187.77.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

NASDAQ PEP traded up $1.44 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $175.01. 5,710,410 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,942,093. The business’s 50 day moving average is $168.10 and its 200-day moving average is $167.99. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 1 year low of $155.83 and a 1 year high of $196.88. The company has a market capitalization of $240.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 0.85.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 9th. The company reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.72 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $27.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $28.40 billion. PepsiCo had a net margin of 9.92% and a return on equity of 58.03%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.67 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st will be given a dividend of $1.265 per share. This represents a $5.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.89%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 29th. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is presently 77.02%.

PepsiCo 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.