Advisory Services Network LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Advisory Services Network LLC lessened its holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP - Free Report) by 9.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 66,686 shares of the company's stock after selling 7,299 shares during the quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC's holdings in PepsiCo were worth $10,140,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. bought a new stake in PepsiCo during the 4th quarter valued at $156,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the fourth quarter valued at $74,975,000. Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its stake in PepsiCo by 129.7% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 992,900 shares of the company's stock worth $150,994,000 after acquiring an additional 560,702 shares during the period. Canopy Partners LLC grew its holdings in PepsiCo by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. Canopy Partners LLC now owns 6,816 shares of the company's stock worth $1,036,000 after acquiring an additional 354 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its position in PepsiCo by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 10,836,264 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,647,762,000 after purchasing an additional 130,913 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.07% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on PEP. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $183.00 to $160.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. StockNews.com cut PepsiCo from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on PepsiCo from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded PepsiCo from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $171.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $184.00 to $178.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $169.88.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

Shares of PEP stock traded up $0.29 on Friday, hitting $144.43. The company had a trading volume of 8,560,319 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,085,688. PepsiCo, Inc. has a twelve month low of $138.33 and a twelve month high of $183.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05. The firm has a market cap of $198.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $148.37 and a 200-day moving average price of $155.78.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.02. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 58.87% and a net margin of 10.43%. The business had revenue of $27.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $27.89 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.78 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were given a dividend of $1.355 per share. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. PepsiCo's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.99%.

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.