Mengis Capital Management Inc. Reduces Position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Mengis Capital Management Inc. cut its holdings in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 6.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 35,061 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,595 shares during the quarter. PepsiCo makes up approximately 1.1% of Mengis Capital Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Mengis Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $5,331,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PEP. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in PepsiCo by 5.1% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 57,268,030 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,738,429,000 after purchasing an additional 2,775,679 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 21.1% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Swedbank AB lifted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 211.4% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 2,345,467 shares of the company’s stock worth $398,847,000 after buying an additional 1,592,343 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 360.0% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,697,742 shares of the company’s stock worth $258,158,000 after buying an additional 1,328,672 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vontobel Holding Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 62.4% in the fourth quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 3,014,101 shares of the company’s stock worth $458,324,000 after buying an additional 1,157,835 shares in the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PepsiCo Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ PEP opened at $153.85 on Tuesday. PepsiCo, Inc. has a one year low of $141.51 and a one year high of $183.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $148.61 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $161.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $211.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.14, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.54.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.02. PepsiCo had a net margin of 10.43% and a return on equity of 58.87%. The business had revenue of $27.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $27.89 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.78 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $1.355 dividend. This represents a $5.42 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.52%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is 77.99%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PEP has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $180.00 to $160.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target 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 price target 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. CICC Research reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada assumed coverage on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. They issued a $172.00 target price on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, PepsiCo currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $171.47.

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.