Magellan Asset Management Ltd Sells 3,242 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Magellan Asset Management Ltd trimmed its stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 83.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 639 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,242 shares during the quarter. Magellan Asset Management Ltd’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $97,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in PepsiCo during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Collier Financial purchased a new position in PepsiCo during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in PepsiCo in the third quarter worth about $31,000. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. 73.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

PepsiCo Price Performance

NASDAQ PEP opened at $149.12 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.82. The business’s fifty day moving average is $149.32 and its 200 day moving average is $157.46. The company has a market capitalization of $204.52 billion, a PE ratio of 21.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.52. PepsiCo, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $141.51 and a fifty-two week high of $183.41.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.02. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 58.87% and a net margin of 10.43%. The company had revenue of $27.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $27.89 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.78 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a dividend of $1.355 per share. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.99%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on PEP shares. Barclays cut PepsiCo from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $168.00 to $156.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $195.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. CICC Research reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of PepsiCo in a research report on Friday, February 7th. HSBC cut their target price on PepsiCo from $186.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on PepsiCo from $185.00 to $168.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, PepsiCo has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $169.88.

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.