PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) Stock Holdings Decreased by ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. reduced its position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 1.5% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 13,911 shares of the company’s stock after selling 205 shares during the quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $2,363,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in PepsiCo during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Naples Money Management LLC purchased a new position in PepsiCo during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Zhang Financial LLC lifted its stake in PepsiCo by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. Zhang Financial LLC now owns 18,804 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,194,000 after acquiring an additional 1,211 shares during the last quarter. HTLF Bank acquired a new stake in PepsiCo in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,372,000. Finally, Lafayette Investments Inc. lifted its stake in PepsiCo by 9.9% in the fourth quarter. Lafayette Investments Inc. now owns 39,264 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,669,000 after acquiring an additional 3,553 shares during the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PEP traded up $1.86 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $174.13. 6,636,400 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,735,731. The stock has a market capitalization of $239.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.53. PepsiCo, Inc. has a twelve month low of $155.83 and a twelve month high of $196.88. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $168.68 and a 200 day moving average of $167.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 9th. The company reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.72 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $27.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $28.40 billion. PepsiCo had a net margin of 9.92% and a return on equity of 58.03%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.67 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.15 EPS for the current year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st were issued a $1.265 dividend. This represents a $5.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.02%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on PEP shares. Argus cut shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of PepsiCo from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $190.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, March 18th. StockNews.com cut shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $181.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $199.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $186.92.

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.