Logan Capital Management Inc. Sells 34,571 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Logan Capital Management Inc. lessened its holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 33.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 68,370 shares of the company’s stock after selling 34,571 shares during the period. Logan Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $10,396,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 133,371,504 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,280,471,000 after buying an additional 1,376,133 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in PepsiCo by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 31,079,522 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,717,069,000 after purchasing an additional 582,254 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 18.1% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 25,217,043 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,834,504,000 after purchasing an additional 3,856,193 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the fourth quarter valued at $2,729,565,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 8.7% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 16,403,395 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,494,300,000 after buying an additional 1,306,818 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PEP opened at $130.44 on Monday. 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 50 day moving average price of $143.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $150.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $178.84 billion, a PE ratio of 18.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.47. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 52 week low of $129.93 and a 52 week high of $183.41.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.48 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.49 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $17.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.81 billion. PepsiCo had a net margin of 10.43% and a return on equity of 58.87%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.61 EPS. Analysts predict that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on PEP. StockNews.com cut shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $155.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. Citigroup reduced 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. Evercore ISI set a $140.00 target price on PepsiCo in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $143.00 to $135.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $160.69.

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.