Sheets Smith Wealth Management Trims Stock Position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Sheets Smith Wealth Management cut its holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 3.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 111,871 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,841 shares during the period. PepsiCo makes up about 2.3% of Sheets Smith Wealth Management’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest holding. Sheets Smith Wealth Management’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $19,000,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

PepsiCo Stock Up 0.4 %

PepsiCo stock traded up $0.70 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $176.15. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,492,120 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,328,097. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 52-week low of $155.83 and a 52-week high of $196.88. The company has a market cap of $242.17 billion, a PE ratio of 26.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.68. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $170.14 and its 200 day moving average is $168.46.

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

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be issued a dividend of $1.355 per share. This is a boost from PepsiCo’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.27. This represents a $5.42 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.08%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 7th. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is currently 76.09%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on PEP shares. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $184.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $178.00 to $181.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. 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 report on Monday, March 18th. Argus lowered PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on PepsiCo from $199.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, PepsiCo has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $187.42.

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.