Wealth Alliance Trims Holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Wealth Alliance cut its stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP - Free Report) by 19.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,205 shares of the company's stock after selling 4,245 shares during the quarter. Wealth Alliance's holdings in PepsiCo were worth $2,616,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Sunpointe LLC increased its holdings in PepsiCo by 32.0% in the 4th quarter. Sunpointe LLC now owns 2,272 shares of the company's stock worth $349,000 after acquiring an additional 551 shares in the last quarter. LMG Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. LMG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 47,164 shares of the company's stock worth $7,172,000 after purchasing an additional 1,511 shares in the last quarter. Corps Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the 4th quarter worth about $1,390,000. Emerald Advisors LLC increased its stake in PepsiCo by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Emerald Advisors LLC now owns 6,810 shares of the company's stock worth $1,036,000 after buying an additional 326 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sterling Financial Planning Inc. raised its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 18.5% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Financial Planning Inc. now owns 3,181 shares of the company's stock valued at $484,000 after acquiring an additional 496 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.07% of the company's stock.

PepsiCo Stock Up 2.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ PEP traded up $4.26 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $153.36. 6,511,954 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,858,976. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $148.75 and its 200-day simple moving average is $162.39. The company has a market cap of $210.33 billion, a PE ratio of 22.05, a P/E/G ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.54. PepsiCo, Inc. has a twelve month low of $141.51 and a twelve month 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.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $27.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $27.89 billion. PepsiCo had a net margin of 10.43% and a return on equity of 58.87%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.78 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $1.355 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.42 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.53%. PepsiCo's dividend payout ratio is presently 77.99%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on PEP. Citigroup cut their price objective on PepsiCo from $195.00 to $170.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $158.00 to $153.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $180.00 to $160.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price 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, Royal Bank of Canada started coverage on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. They issued a $172.00 price target for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average 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.