Bigelow Investment Advisors LLC Sells 299 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Bigelow Investment Advisors LLC lowered its stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 2.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 11,047 shares of the company’s stock after selling 299 shares during the quarter. PepsiCo comprises 1.0% of Bigelow Investment Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Bigelow Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $1,876,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Zhang Financial LLC grew its position in PepsiCo by 6.9% in the 4th quarter. Zhang Financial LLC now owns 18,804 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,194,000 after purchasing an additional 1,211 shares during the period. HTLF Bank acquired a new stake in PepsiCo in the 4th quarter valued at $3,372,000. Lafayette Investments Inc. grew its position in PepsiCo by 9.9% in the 4th quarter. Lafayette Investments Inc. now owns 39,264 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,669,000 after purchasing an additional 3,553 shares during the period. Colton Groome Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in PepsiCo by 35.3% in the 4th quarter. Colton Groome Financial Advisors LLC now owns 6,817 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,158,000 after purchasing an additional 1,780 shares during the period. Finally, Sterling Financial Planning Inc. grew its position in PepsiCo by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Financial Planning Inc. now owns 2,939 shares of the company’s stock valued at $499,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on PEP shares. Citigroup raised shares of PepsiCo from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $180.00 to $195.00 in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Argus downgraded shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $181.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $195.00 price objective on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Friday, February 9th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $186.92.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

PepsiCo stock traded up $1.86 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $174.13. The stock had a trading volume of 6,629,546 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,735,584. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 12 month low of $155.83 and a 12 month high of $196.88. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $168.55 and its 200 day moving average price is $167.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $239.34 billion, a PE ratio of 26.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 9th. The company reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $28.40 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.67 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 1st were paid a $1.265 dividend. This represents a $5.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.91%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.02%.

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.