ING Groep NV Sells 31,246 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

ING Groep NV trimmed its position in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 5.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 519,994 shares of the company’s stock after selling 31,246 shares during the quarter. ING Groep NV’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $79,070,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of PEP. Cross Staff Investments Inc raised its stake in PepsiCo by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Cross Staff Investments Inc now owns 7,080 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,204,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Paulson Wealth Management Inc. raised 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 buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. LCM Capital Management Inc raised its stake in PepsiCo by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. LCM Capital Management Inc now owns 7,573 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,288,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC raised its stake in PepsiCo by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC now owns 5,721 shares of the company’s stock valued at $973,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sigma Investment Counselors Inc. raised its stake in PepsiCo by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Sigma Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 4,310 shares of the company’s stock valued at $733,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

PepsiCo Stock Up 1.2 %

PEP opened at $145.81 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $149.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $162.60. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 52 week low of $141.51 and a 52 week high of $183.41. The company has a market capitalization of $199.98 billion, a PE ratio of 20.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last announced its quarterly 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 10.43% and a return on equity of 58.87%. The firm had revenue of $27.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $27.89 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.78 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a $1.355 dividend. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.72%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 77.99%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada assumed coverage on PepsiCo in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. They issued a $172.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on PepsiCo from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on PepsiCo from $195.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on PepsiCo from $180.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, BNP Paribas reduced their price objective on PepsiCo from $162.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, PepsiCo has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.