Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. Reduces Stock Holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. reduced its position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 10.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 29,622 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,436 shares during the quarter. PepsiCo comprises about 0.5% of Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 28th largest position. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $5,031,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Proquility Private Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in PepsiCo by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Proquility Private Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,260 shares of the company’s stock valued at $950,000 after buying an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Amplius Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Amplius Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,241 shares of the company’s stock valued at $381,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 2.7% during the third quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,345 shares of the company’s stock valued at $397,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in PepsiCo by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,420 shares of the company’s stock worth $411,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cassia Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in PepsiCo by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Cassia Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,143 shares of the company’s stock worth $702,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded PepsiCo from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $185.00 to $176.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 19th. Argus downgraded PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. StockNews.com downgraded PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on PepsiCo from $199.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised PepsiCo from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $190.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $186.92.

PepsiCo Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ PEP traded up $1.23 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $168.18. The stock had a trading volume of 2,550,149 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,718,324. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $168.70 and its 200 day simple moving average is $167.38. The firm has a market cap of $231.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.53. PepsiCo, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $155.83 and a fifty-two week high of $196.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.68.

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

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st were paid a $1.265 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $5.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.01%. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 77.02%.

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.