PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) Shares Sold by QRG Capital Management Inc.

QRG Capital Management Inc. lessened its stake in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 3.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 168,720 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,910 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $25,656,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. AMF Tjanstepension AB grew its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 15.8% in the 3rd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 293,824 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,016,000 after buying an additional 40,031 shares during the period. Swedbank AB grew its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 211.4% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 2,345,467 shares of the company’s stock valued at $398,847,000 after buying an additional 1,592,343 shares during the period. Howard Capital Management Group LLC grew its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 4,568 shares of the company’s stock valued at $777,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the period. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 16.4% in the 3rd quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 11,905 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,059,000 after buying an additional 1,675 shares during the period. Finally, Saybrook Capital NC grew its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 7.7% in the 3rd quarter. Saybrook Capital NC now owns 14,105 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,398,000 after buying an additional 1,003 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

PepsiCo Price Performance

Shares of PEP opened at $151.51 on Thursday. PepsiCo, Inc. has a twelve month low of $141.51 and a twelve month high of $183.41. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $148.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $161.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $207.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.80, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.54. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share 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 analyst estimates of $27.89 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.78 EPS. The company’s revenue was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.58%. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is 77.99%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PEP has been the subject of several analyst reports. HSBC dropped their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $186.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Royal Bank of Canada began coverage on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. They issued a $172.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $184.00 to $178.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $180.00 to $160.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $171.47.

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.