Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC Trims Stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC decreased its position in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 10.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,393 shares of the company’s stock after selling 650 shares during the quarter. Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $820,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Collier Financial purchased a new stake in shares of PepsiCo during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in PepsiCo in the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC purchased a new stake in PepsiCo during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Human Investing LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PepsiCo during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

PepsiCo Trading Up 0.1 %

PepsiCo stock opened at $148.34 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $148.78 and a 200 day moving average price of $160.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.82. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 52 week low of $141.51 and a 52 week high of $183.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $203.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.34, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.52.

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

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $1.355 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.65%. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.99%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on PEP shares. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $193.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. StockNews.com lowered PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $185.00 to $168.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on PepsiCo from $183.00 to $165.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $184.00 to $178.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $170.59.

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.