PepsiCo, Inc. $PEP Shares Sold by Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lowered its position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 21.0% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 8,194,433 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,182,693 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $1,150,826,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Claris Advisors LLC MO grew its position in PepsiCo by 14.1% during the 2nd quarter. Claris Advisors LLC MO now owns 2,490 shares of the company’s stock worth $329,000 after purchasing an additional 308 shares during the last quarter. Foster Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 4.6% during the second quarter. Foster Group Inc. now owns 5,169 shares of the company’s stock worth $683,000 after buying an additional 229 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 46.4% during the second quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 114,344 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,098,000 after buying an additional 36,239 shares during the last quarter. Clayton Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in PepsiCo in the 3rd quarter valued at about $872,000. Finally, Naples Global Advisors LLC raised its stake in PepsiCo by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Naples Global Advisors LLC now owns 26,270 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,469,000 after acquiring an additional 592 shares during the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

PepsiCo Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ PEP opened at $146.32 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $200.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.79 and a beta of 0.42. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 52 week low of $127.60 and a 52 week high of $160.15. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $145.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $144.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 6th. Investors of record on Friday, December 5th were issued a $1.4225 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 5th. This represents a $5.69 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.9%. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is currently 108.17%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on PEP shares. BNP Paribas raised PepsiCo from a “hold” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $179.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $172.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Friday, January 9th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $150.00 to $152.00 in a research note on Friday, October 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $150.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, October 10th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $161.32.

About PepsiCo

PepsiCo, Inc (NASDAQ: PEP) is a multinational food and beverage company headquartered in Purchase, New York. The company develops, manufactures, markets and sells a broad portfolio of branded food and beverage products, including carbonated and noncarbonated soft drinks, bottled water, sports drinks, juices, ready-to-drink teas and coffees, salty snacks, cereals, and other convenient foods. Its leading consumer brands include Pepsi, Mountain Dew, Gatorade, Tropicana, Quaker, Lay’s, Doritos and Cheetos, among others.

Formed through the 1965 merger of Pepsi-Cola and Frito-Lay, PepsiCo has grown into a global business with integrated manufacturing, distribution and marketing operations.