MBL Wealth LLC Sells 348 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

MBL Wealth LLC reduced its holdings in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 21.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,254 shares of the company’s stock after selling 348 shares during the quarter. MBL Wealth LLC’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $213,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in PEP. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. bought a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Pacifica Partners Inc. bought a new stake in PepsiCo in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. West Tower Group LLC bought a new stake in PepsiCo in the 2nd quarter valued at $36,000. VitalStone Financial LLC bought a new stake in PepsiCo in the 2nd quarter valued at $46,000. Finally, Pacific Center for Financial Services bought a new stake in PepsiCo in the 1st quarter valued at $47,000. 73.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on PEP shares. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $195.00 price target on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Citigroup upgraded PepsiCo from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $180.00 to $195.00 in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Barclays boosted their price target on PepsiCo from $179.00 to $183.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 13th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $180.00 price objective on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Monday, February 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised PepsiCo from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $190.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, March 18th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, PepsiCo presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $187.77.

PepsiCo Price Performance

Shares of PepsiCo stock traded up $1.44 during trading on Friday, reaching $175.01. 5,710,539 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,548,546. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 0.85. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 1-year low of $155.83 and a 1-year high of $196.88. The company has a market cap of $240.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.64, a PEG ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.53. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $168.10 and its 200 day moving average price is $167.99.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last issued its earnings results on Friday, February 9th. The company reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.72 by $0.06. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 58.03% and a net margin of 9.92%. The business had revenue of $27.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $28.40 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.67 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.15 earnings per share for the current year.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st will be given a $1.265 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $5.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.89%. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.02%.

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.