Atria Investments Inc Trims Stock Position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Atria Investments Inc trimmed its holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 9.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 101,533 shares of the company’s stock after selling 10,754 shares during the period. Atria Investments Inc’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $15,439,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Swedbank AB boosted 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 buying an additional 1,592,343 shares during the period. Howard Capital Management Group LLC lifted its stake in PepsiCo by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 4,568 shares of the company’s stock worth $777,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in PepsiCo by 205.1% during the 3rd quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 4,055 shares of the company’s stock valued at $690,000 after acquiring an additional 2,726 shares during the period. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC grew its position in PepsiCo by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC now owns 17,477 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,972,000 after acquiring an additional 895 shares in the last quarter. Finally, James J. Burns & Company LLC lifted its position in shares of PepsiCo by 4.4% during the third quarter. James J. Burns & Company LLC now owns 2,006 shares of the company’s stock worth $342,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on PEP. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $183.00 to $165.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. HSBC reduced their price objective on PepsiCo from $186.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Barclays lowered 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, February 6th. StockNews.com cut PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $193.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, PepsiCo presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $171.47.

PepsiCo Price Performance

PEP stock opened at $154.19 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $211.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.52. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $148.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $161.20. 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 0.65, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last released its earnings results 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 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 period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.78 earnings per share. PepsiCo’s revenue was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 EPS for the current year.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $1.355 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.42 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.52%. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.99%.

About PepsiCo

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.