Diversify Advisory Services LLC Decreases Stock Position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Diversify Advisory Services LLC reduced its stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 56.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 8,515 shares of the company’s stock after selling 10,926 shares during the period. Diversify Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $1,215,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in PepsiCo by 9.2% during the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 99,785 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,968,000 after purchasing an additional 8,406 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 104.2% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,705,574 shares of the company’s stock valued at $259,350,000 after buying an additional 870,451 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in PepsiCo by 11.0% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 350,225 shares of the company’s stock worth $59,549,000 after acquiring an additional 34,633 shares during the period. Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its holdings in PepsiCo by 12.8% in the fourth quarter. Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 41,580 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,323,000 after acquiring an additional 4,712 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IHT Wealth Management LLC increased its position in PepsiCo by 19.3% during the 3rd quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 32,267 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,493,000 after purchasing an additional 5,220 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $185.00 to $183.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Bank of America cut their price objective on PepsiCo from $190.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 30th. StockNews.com raised PepsiCo from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. UBS Group dropped their price target on PepsiCo from $193.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised PepsiCo to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, PepsiCo has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $178.60.

PepsiCo Stock Up 1.2 %

PepsiCo stock opened at $148.25 on Tuesday. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 12 month low of $141.51 and a 12 month high of $183.41. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $155.37 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $165.86. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96. The firm has a market cap of $203.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.87, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.54.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th were given a $1.355 dividend. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.66%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 79.94%.

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.