Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC Sells 20,819 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC decreased its holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP - Free Report) by 20.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 79,097 shares of the company's stock after selling 20,819 shares during the period. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC's holdings in PepsiCo were worth $12,028,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PEP. Ossiam raised its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 138.9% during the fourth quarter. Ossiam now owns 73,604 shares of the company's stock valued at $11,192,000 after purchasing an additional 42,793 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in PepsiCo by 104.2% in 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 purchasing an additional 870,451 shares during the last quarter. Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV grew its stake in PepsiCo by 12.8% during the 4th quarter. Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 41,580 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,323,000 after purchasing an additional 4,712 shares in the last quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD increased its holdings in PepsiCo by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD now owns 1,236,788 shares of the company's stock worth $188,031,000 after purchasing an additional 61,541 shares during the last quarter. Finally, WCM Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 147.6% during the 4th quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 14,692 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,229,000 after buying an additional 8,759 shares during the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on PEP. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on PepsiCo from $158.00 to $159.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group lowered PepsiCo from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $171.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Evercore ISI set a $140.00 price objective on PepsiCo in a research note on Thursday. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $183.00 to $160.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $162.00.

PepsiCo Price Performance

NASDAQ:PEP traded down $1.93 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $133.38. 11,534,107 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,151,052. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 12 month low of $131.83 and a 12 month high of $183.41. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $147.91 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $154.18. The company has a market capitalization of $182.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.48 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.52 by ($0.04). PepsiCo had a return on equity of 58.87% and a net margin of 10.43%. The business had revenue of $17.92 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.81 billion. Sell-side analysts expect that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a $1.355 dividend. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. PepsiCo's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 77.99%.

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.