PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) Shares Sold by Sawgrass Asset Management LLC

Sawgrass Asset Management LLC trimmed its holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 2.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 93,616 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,917 shares during the period. PepsiCo accounts for about 1.8% of Sawgrass Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $15,900,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Barlow Wealth Partners Inc. purchased a new position in PepsiCo in the fourth quarter valued at about $504,000. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in PepsiCo in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,188,000. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. increased its position in PepsiCo by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,298 shares of the company’s stock valued at $730,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares during the period. Palisade Asset Management LLC increased its position in PepsiCo by 7.9% in the 4th quarter. Palisade Asset Management LLC now owns 93,828 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,936,000 after acquiring an additional 6,889 shares during the period. Finally, Peddock Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in PepsiCo by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. Peddock Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,522 shares of the company’s stock valued at $258,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. 73.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on PEP shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on PepsiCo from $199.00 to $209.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on PepsiCo from $181.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. StockNews.com cut PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. Barclays raised their target price on PepsiCo from $184.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on PepsiCo from $178.00 to $181.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $187.42.

PepsiCo Price Performance

Shares of PEP traded down $0.61 on Wednesday, hitting $177.41. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,266,694 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,666,490. The company has a market capitalization of $243.90 billion, a PE ratio of 26.68, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.68. PepsiCo, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $155.83 and a fifty-two week high of $196.88. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $170.49 and a 200 day moving average price of $168.70.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.61 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $18.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.08 billion. PepsiCo had a net margin of 10.00% and a return on equity of 57.37%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.50 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th will be paid a $1.355 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 7th. This is a positive change from PepsiCo’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.27. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.06%. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is presently 76.09%.

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.