CapWealth Advisors LLC Trims Position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

CapWealth Advisors LLC lessened its stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 0.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 117,589 shares of the company’s stock after selling 588 shares during the period. PepsiCo accounts for about 2.4% of CapWealth Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest position. CapWealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $19,971,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA lifted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 80.5% during the fourth quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 157 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. Life Planning Partners Inc acquired a new position in PepsiCo in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Avion Wealth raised its position in PepsiCo by 61.7% during the 4th quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 241 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Pacific Center for Financial Services purchased a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the first quarter valued at about $47,000. Finally, Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the fourth quarter worth about $44,000. 73.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on PEP. StockNews.com downgraded PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on PepsiCo from $181.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of PepsiCo from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $190.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 18th. Citigroup upgraded shares of PepsiCo from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $180.00 to $195.00 in a report on Monday, February 12th. Finally, Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $195.00 price objective on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Friday, February 9th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $186.92.

PepsiCo Price Performance

PepsiCo stock traded up $1.48 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $170.96. 1,695,740 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,671,025. 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, Inc. has a 12-month low of $155.83 and a 12-month high of $196.88. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $168.58 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $167.38. The company has a market capitalization of $234.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.80, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.53.

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

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

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

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.