Legal & General Group Plc Sells 3,036,509 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Legal & General Group Plc lessened its holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 23.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,784,108 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,036,509 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc owned 0.71% of PepsiCo worth $1,487,771,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Collier Financial bought a new stake in PepsiCo during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of PepsiCo during the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC acquired a new position in PepsiCo during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in PepsiCo in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. 73.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

PepsiCo stock opened at $146.61 on Monday. PepsiCo, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $141.51 and a fifty-two week high of $183.41. 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 stock has a market cap of $201.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.49. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $149.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $156.94.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $27.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $27.89 billion. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 58.87% and a net margin of 10.43%. The company’s revenue was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.78 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a dividend of $1.355 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.70%. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 77.99%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PEP has been the topic of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on PepsiCo from $183.00 to $165.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. BNP Paribas cut their price objective on PepsiCo from $162.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $171.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Piper Sandler began coverage on PepsiCo in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $171.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on PepsiCo from $184.00 to $178.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $169.88.

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.