Merit Financial Group LLC Sells 11,663 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Merit Financial Group LLC reduced its holdings in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 25.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 34,139 shares of the company’s stock after selling 11,663 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $5,798,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PEP. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 18,423,845 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,121,736,000 after buying an additional 920,032 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted 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 acquiring an additional 595,357 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 17.9% in the 4th quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 9,664,323 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,641,389,000 after purchasing an additional 1,470,064 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in shares of PepsiCo by 9.1% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,316,036 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,239,629,000 after purchasing an additional 608,321 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG lifted its holdings in PepsiCo by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 6,774,800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,147,922,000 after purchasing an additional 142,243 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PEP has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Argus cut shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $195.00 target price on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $180.00 price target on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Monday, February 12th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of PepsiCo from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $180.00 to $195.00 in a report on Monday, February 12th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $187.42.

PepsiCo Trading Up 0.4 %

NASDAQ:PEP traded up $0.70 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $176.15. The company had a trading volume of 3,491,857 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,741,471. The firm has a market cap of $242.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.52. PepsiCo, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $155.83 and a fifty-two week high of $196.88. The business’s fifty day moving average is $170.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $168.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 0.86.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.61 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $18.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.08 billion. PepsiCo had a net margin of 10.00% and a return on equity of 57.37%. PepsiCo’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.50 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.16 earnings per share for the current year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th will be paid a dividend of $1.355 per share. This represents a $5.42 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 7th. This is an increase from PepsiCo’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.27. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 76.09%.

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.