PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) Shares Sold by First Fiduciary Investment Counsel Inc.

First Fiduciary Investment Counsel Inc. decreased its position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 2.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 82,154 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,688 shares during the quarter. PepsiCo comprises about 3.1% of First Fiduciary Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 10th largest position. First Fiduciary Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $13,953,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 18,423,845 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,121,736,000 after acquiring an additional 920,032 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 16,878,022 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,859,812,000 after purchasing an additional 595,357 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 17.9% during the 4th quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 9,664,323 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,641,389,000 after purchasing an additional 1,470,064 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 9.1% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,316,036 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,239,629,000 after purchasing an additional 608,321 shares during the period. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG grew its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 6,774,800 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,147,922,000 after purchasing an additional 142,243 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

PepsiCo stock opened at $175.58 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $241.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $169.40 and a 200-day moving average of $167.86. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 52 week low of $155.83 and a 52 week high of $196.88.

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

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Investors 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 2.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is currently 76.09%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PEP has been the subject of a number of research reports. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on PepsiCo from $199.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Citigroup upgraded PepsiCo from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $180.00 to $195.00 in a report on Monday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on PepsiCo from $178.00 to $181.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley upgraded PepsiCo from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $190.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, March 18th. Finally, Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $195.00 price target on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Tuesday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $187.42.

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.