PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) Shares Sold by Bailard Inc.

Bailard Inc. lessened its position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 0.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 76,345 shares of the company’s stock after selling 392 shares during the period. Bailard Inc.’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $12,966,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in PEP. MBE Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 50.6% in the 3rd quarter. MBE Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,650 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,127,000 after purchasing an additional 2,235 shares in the last quarter. Exeter Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Exeter Financial LLC now owns 22,308 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,780,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC increased its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC now owns 134,779 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,837,000 after purchasing an additional 1,031 shares in the last quarter. Community Trust & Investment Co. increased its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Community Trust & Investment Co. now owns 57,039 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,665,000 after purchasing an additional 463 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ziegler Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Ziegler Capital Management LLC now owns 87,248 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,784,000 after purchasing an additional 1,681 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on PEP shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $199.00 to $209.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Argus downgraded shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $180.00 target price on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Monday, February 12th. Finally, Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $195.00 target price on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Tuesday. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $187.33.

PepsiCo Trading Up 3.6 %

Shares of PepsiCo stock traded up $6.19 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $177.41. 10,011,958 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,852,656. PepsiCo, Inc. has a twelve month low of $155.83 and a twelve month high of $196.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $243.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $169.04 and a 200 day simple moving average of $167.70. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.09. PepsiCo had a net margin of 9.92% and a return on equity of 58.03%. The business had revenue of $18.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.08 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.50 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.15 EPS for the current year.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st were given a dividend of $1.265 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $5.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.85%. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.02%.

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.