Calamos Advisors LLC Cuts Position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Calamos Advisors LLC lowered its position in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 4.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 305,749 shares of the company’s stock after selling 15,304 shares during the period. Calamos Advisors LLC’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $51,928,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 59.4% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 993,567 shares of the company’s stock valued at $168,747,000 after acquiring an additional 370,122 shares during the period. Harbour Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Harbour Capital Advisors LLC now owns 27,446 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,747,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Meadow Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of PepsiCo during the fourth quarter valued at about $405,000. Manchester Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 1.4% during the third quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 13,240 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,243,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC raised its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 34.5% during the fourth quarter. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC now owns 12,317 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,091,000 after purchasing an additional 3,159 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

PepsiCo stock traded up $2.79 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $172.27. 5,371,658 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,719,607. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 52 week low of $155.83 and a 52 week high of $196.88. The firm has a market cap of $236.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.53. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $168.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $167.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 0.85.

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

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st were given a dividend of $1.265 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $5.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.94%. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 77.02%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on PEP shares. StockNews.com cut shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Barclays boosted their target price on PepsiCo from $183.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. 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 report on Monday, March 18th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on PepsiCo from $199.00 to $209.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $180.00 price objective on shares of PepsiCo in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, PepsiCo currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $186.92.

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.