Tufton Capital Management Reduces Holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Tufton Capital Management reduced its stake in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 0.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 34,911 shares of the company’s stock after selling 170 shares during the period. Tufton Capital Management’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $5,929,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cerity Partners LLC increased its position in PepsiCo by 59.4% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 993,567 shares of the company’s stock worth $168,747,000 after purchasing an additional 370,122 shares during the last quarter. Harbour Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of PepsiCo by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Harbour Capital Advisors LLC now owns 27,446 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,747,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Meadow Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in PepsiCo during the 4th quarter valued at $405,000. Manchester Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in PepsiCo by 1.4% during the third quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 13,240 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,243,000 after buying an additional 185 shares during the period. Finally, Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC raised its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 34.5% in the fourth quarter. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC now owns 12,317 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,091,000 after acquiring an additional 3,159 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

PepsiCo Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of PEP traded up $1.25 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $170.73. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,509,766 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,667,988. The firm has a market capitalization of $234.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.80, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.53. The company’s 50-day moving average is $168.58 and its 200-day moving average is $167.38. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 52-week low of $155.83 and a 52-week high of $196.88.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last announced its earnings results on Friday, February 9th. The company reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.72 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $27.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $28.40 billion. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 58.03% and a net margin of 9.92%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.67 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st were given a dividend of $1.265 per share. This represents a $5.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.96%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is 77.02%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $180.00 price target on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Citigroup upgraded PepsiCo from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $180.00 to $195.00 in a report on Monday, February 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on PepsiCo from $181.00 to $184.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. Morgan Stanley upgraded PepsiCo from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $190.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, March 18th. Finally, Argus cut shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $186.92.

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.