PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) Shares Sold by Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.

Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. reduced its stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 0.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 172,867 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,325 shares during the period. PepsiCo makes up 0.8% of Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest position. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $26,286,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Cross Staff Investments Inc lifted its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Cross Staff Investments Inc now owns 7,080 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,204,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Paulson Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of 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 last quarter. LCM Capital Management Inc raised its stake 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 in the last quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in PepsiCo by 1.1% in the 3rd 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. raised its position in shares of 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 period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

PepsiCo Price Performance

Shares of PEP stock opened at $144.58 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.70. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $151.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $164.26. PepsiCo, Inc. has a one year low of $141.51 and a one year high of $183.41. The firm has a market cap of $198.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.54.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $27.78 billion during 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 posted $1.78 EPS. On average, analysts expect that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $1.355 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.75%. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is 77.99%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PEP has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. TD Cowen lowered their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $183.00 to $160.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. UBS Group lowered their price target on PepsiCo from $193.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Barclays decreased their target price on PepsiCo from $158.00 to $153.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. StockNews.com downgraded PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $195.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, 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.