Martin Capital Partners LLC Decreases Stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Martin Capital Partners LLC decreased its stake in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 56.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,007 shares of the company’s stock after selling 9,124 shares during the quarter. Martin Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $1,065,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Cross Staff Investments Inc raised its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 0.9% in the third quarter. Cross Staff Investments Inc now owns 7,080 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,204,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Paulson Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in PepsiCo by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Paulson Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,986 shares of the company’s stock valued at $508,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the period. LCM Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. LCM Capital Management Inc now owns 7,573 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,288,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 1.1% during the third quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC now owns 5,721 shares of the company’s stock worth $973,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sigma Investment Counselors Inc. boosted its holdings in PepsiCo by 1.6% in the third quarter. Sigma Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 4,310 shares of the company’s stock valued at $733,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on PepsiCo from $185.00 to $168.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. TD Cowen decreased 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. BNP Paribas dropped their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $162.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada assumed coverage on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Tuesday. They set a $172.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Redburn Atlantic raised PepsiCo to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $173.53.

PepsiCo Price Performance

PEP stock opened at $143.49 on Wednesday. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 52-week low of $141.51 and a 52-week high of $183.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96. The stock has a market cap of $196.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.54. The business has a fifty day moving average of $152.86 and a two-hundred day moving average of $164.71.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.02. PepsiCo had a net margin of 10.18% and a return on equity of 57.32%. The company had revenue of $27.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $27.89 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.78 earnings per share. PepsiCo’s revenue for the quarter was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.15 earnings per share for the current year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th were given a dividend of $1.355 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $5.42 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.78%. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is currently 79.94%.

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.