River Road Asset Management LLC Sells 2,066 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

River Road Asset Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 2.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 83,241 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,066 shares during the period. River Road Asset Management LLC’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $14,138,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Oakworth Capital Inc. grew its position in PepsiCo by 23.8% during the 4th quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. now owns 10,421 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,770,000 after acquiring an additional 2,000 shares during the last quarter. Telos Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in PepsiCo by 6.9% during the 4th quarter. Telos Capital Management Inc. now owns 106,396 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,070,000 after buying an additional 6,887 shares in the last quarter. Alpha Omega Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in PepsiCo by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Alpha Omega Wealth Management LLC now owns 18,208 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,092,000 after buying an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new position in PepsiCo during the 4th quarter worth $113,000. Finally, TRUE Private Wealth Advisors lifted its holdings in PepsiCo by 13.6% during the 4th quarter. TRUE Private Wealth Advisors now owns 31,599 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,367,000 after buying an additional 3,788 shares in the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on PEP. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $180.00 price objective on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Monday, February 12th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on PepsiCo from $199.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $195.00 price objective on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Friday, February 9th. Morgan Stanley raised PepsiCo from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $190.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on PepsiCo from $181.00 to $184.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $186.92.

PepsiCo Price Performance

PEP opened at $169.48 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 12 month low of $155.83 and a 12 month high of $196.88. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $168.58 and a 200 day simple moving average of $167.38. The stock has a market cap of $232.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.53.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 9th. The company reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.72 by $0.06. PepsiCo had a net margin of 9.92% and a return on equity of 58.03%. The business had revenue of $27.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $28.40 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.67 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.15 EPS for the current year.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 1st were given a $1.265 dividend. This represents a $5.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.99%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.02%.

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.