Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. Has $3.22 Million Stock Holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 4.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 19,234 shares of the company’s stock after selling 875 shares during the period. PepsiCo makes up 0.9% of Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest holding. Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc.’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $3,216,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 5.3% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 18,423,845 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,121,736,000 after buying an additional 920,032 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 3.7% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 16,878,022 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,859,812,000 after buying an additional 595,357 shares during the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 17.9% during the fourth quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 9,664,323 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,641,389,000 after buying an additional 1,470,064 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 9.1% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,316,036 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,239,629,000 after buying an additional 608,321 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG grew its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 2.1% during the third quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 6,774,800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,147,922,000 after buying an additional 142,243 shares during the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PEP traded down $5.24 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $171.22. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 9,134,290 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,799,144. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $168.80 and a 200 day moving average price of $167.55. PepsiCo, Inc. has a one year low of $155.83 and a one year high of $196.88. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $235.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.53.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 9th. The company reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.72 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $27.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $28.40 billion. PepsiCo had a net margin of 9.92% and a return on equity of 58.03%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.67 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 1st were issued a dividend of $1.265 per share. This represents a $5.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.02%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PEP has been the topic of several analyst reports. StockNews.com cut shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $183.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Citigroup upgraded shares of PepsiCo from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $180.00 to $195.00 in a report on Monday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of PepsiCo from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $190.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, March 18th. Finally, Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $195.00 price target on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Tuesday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, PepsiCo currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $186.92.

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.