Avestar Capital LLC Sells 2,087 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Avestar Capital LLC trimmed its position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 24.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,446 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,087 shares during the period. Avestar Capital LLC’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $990,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PEP. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in PepsiCo by 17,113.0% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,220,385 shares of the company’s stock valued at $547,626,000 after purchasing an additional 3,201,676 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 5.1% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 57,268,030 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,738,429,000 after buying an additional 2,775,679 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 21.1% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 13,021,316 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,293,049,000 after buying an additional 2,264,445 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB increased its position in shares of PepsiCo by 211.4% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 2,345,467 shares of the company’s stock worth $398,847,000 after acquiring an additional 1,592,343 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 360.0% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,697,742 shares of the company’s stock worth $258,158,000 after acquiring an additional 1,328,672 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

PepsiCo Stock Up 0.4 %

PepsiCo stock opened at $144.58 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization 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. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $150.41 and a 200 day simple moving average of $163.54. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 1-year low of $141.51 and a 1-year high of $183.41. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.02. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 58.87% and a net margin of 10.43%. The company had revenue of $27.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $27.89 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.78 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.34 earnings per share for the current year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a $1.355 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.75%. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 77.99%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on PEP shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on PepsiCo from $183.00 to $165.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on PepsiCo from $184.00 to $178.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. CICC Research reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Friday, February 7th. TD Cowen dropped their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $183.00 to $160.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $171.47.

PepsiCo 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.