Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Cuts Holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans reduced its position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 10.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 108,653 shares of the company’s stock after selling 12,859 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in PepsiCo were worth $18,477,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PEP. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in PepsiCo by 17,113.0% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,220,385 shares of the company’s stock worth $547,626,000 after acquiring an additional 3,201,676 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB increased its position in shares of PepsiCo by 211.4% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 2,345,467 shares of the company’s stock valued at $398,847,000 after purchasing an additional 1,592,343 shares during the last quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in PepsiCo by 125.2% in the second quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,740,573 shares of the company’s stock worth $452,003,000 after buying an additional 1,523,631 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its stake in PepsiCo by 7.2% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 13,547,547 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,234,400,000 after buying an additional 905,468 shares during the period. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC bought a new position in PepsiCo during the third quarter valued at $151,749,000. 73.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

PepsiCo Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of PEP stock opened at $158.74 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $169.66 and its 200 day moving average price is $171.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.70. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 1-year low of $155.85 and a 1-year high of $183.41. The company has a market cap of $217.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.53.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 8th. The company reported $2.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $23.32 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $23.86 billion. PepsiCo had a net margin of 10.18% and a return on equity of 57.32%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.25 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect 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 will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th will be issued a dividend of $1.355 per share. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.41%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 79.94%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PEP has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $190.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Morgan Stanley cut PepsiCo from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $185.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on PepsiCo from $180.00 to $179.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded PepsiCo to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $186.00 to $183.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, PepsiCo currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $183.92.

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.