Clark Capital Management Group Inc. Sells 342 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Clark Capital Management Group Inc. cut its position in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 4.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,803 shares of the company’s stock after selling 342 shares during the period. Clark Capital Management Group Inc.’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $1,034,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Collier Financial acquired a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of PepsiCo during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new position in PepsiCo in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. 73.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PEP has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Bank of America reduced their price objective on PepsiCo from $155.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on PepsiCo from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. Barclays dropped their target price on PepsiCo from $143.00 to $135.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 28th. BNP Paribas lowered their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $162.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $158.00 to $159.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $160.69.

PepsiCo Stock Down 0.8 %

PEP stock opened at $130.44 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $143.73 and a 200-day moving average price of $151.04. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 12 month low of $130.16 and a 12 month high of $183.41. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $178.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.47.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.01). PepsiCo had a net margin of 10.43% and a return on equity of 58.87%. The company had revenue of $17.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.81 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.61 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be paid a dividend of $1.4225 per share. This represents a $5.69 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.36%. This is a positive change from PepsiCo’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.36. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 83.68%.

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.