Meritage Portfolio Management Sells 104 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Meritage Portfolio Management cut its holdings in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 1.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,938 shares of the company’s stock after selling 104 shares during the quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $1,055,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in PEP. AMF Tjanstepension AB raised its position in shares of PepsiCo by 15.8% in the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 293,824 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,016,000 after purchasing an additional 40,031 shares during the period. Czech National Bank lifted its holdings in PepsiCo by 6.8% during the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 279,811 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,582,000 after purchasing an additional 17,833 shares in the last quarter. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC bought a new position in PepsiCo in the 3rd quarter worth about $633,000. Country Trust Bank increased its position in shares of PepsiCo by 2.3% during the third quarter. Country Trust Bank now owns 131,428 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,349,000 after buying an additional 2,960 shares during the period. Finally, Reliant Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 1.2% in the third quarter. Reliant Investment Management LLC now owns 30,873 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,250,000 after buying an additional 361 shares in the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $193.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on PepsiCo from $185.00 to $168.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. StockNews.com raised shares of PepsiCo from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Piper Sandler began coverage on PepsiCo in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $171.00 price target on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $171.76.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PEP opened at $145.66 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 0.89. PepsiCo, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $141.51 and a fifty-two week high of $183.41. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $152.49 and a 200-day moving average price of $164.53. The firm has a market cap of $199.84 billion, a PE ratio of 21.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.54.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last released 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. The firm had revenue of $27.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $27.89 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 .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.78 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.15 earnings per share for the current year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a $1.355 dividend. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.72%. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is currently 79.94%.

PepsiCo Company 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.