PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) Shares Sold by Sit Investment Associates Inc.

Sit Investment Associates Inc. lowered its holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 118,249 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,635 shares during the period. Sit Investment Associates Inc.’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $17,981,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PEP. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of PepsiCo during the fourth quarter worth $2,729,565,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in PepsiCo in the fourth quarter valued at $589,307,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in PepsiCo by 18.1% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 25,217,043 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,834,504,000 after purchasing an additional 3,856,193 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in PepsiCo by 21.1% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 13,021,316 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,293,049,000 after purchasing an additional 2,264,445 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in PepsiCo by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 133,371,504 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,280,471,000 after purchasing an additional 1,376,133 shares in the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PepsiCo Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PEP opened at $146.61 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $201.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.09, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.49. PepsiCo, Inc. has a twelve month low of $141.51 and a twelve month high of $183.41. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $149.33 and a two-hundred day moving average of $157.21. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.02. PepsiCo had a net margin of 10.43% and a return on equity of 58.87%. The firm had revenue of $27.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $27.89 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.78 EPS. PepsiCo’s revenue for the quarter was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a dividend of $1.355 per share. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.99%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on PEP shares. Barclays lowered shares of PepsiCo from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $168.00 to $156.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $185.00 to $168.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. UBS Group dropped their target price on PepsiCo from $193.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, BNP Paribas cut their price target on PepsiCo from $162.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $169.88.

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.