Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Sells 1,550 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. lowered its holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 134,188 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,550 shares during the period. PepsiCo makes up 0.9% of Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest position. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $22,132,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in PepsiCo by 77.5% in the first quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 158 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC increased its position in shares of PepsiCo by 141.3% during the 2nd quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 181 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new stake in PepsiCo in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Fortis Group Advisors LLC boosted its stake in PepsiCo by 100.0% in the fourth quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC now owns 194 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. bought a new position in PepsiCo during the first quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on PEP. DZ Bank cut shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $183.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Friday, July 19th. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on PepsiCo from $200.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on PepsiCo from $190.00 to $185.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 12th. Barclays lifted their price target on PepsiCo from $179.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Finally, StockNews.com raised PepsiCo from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, PepsiCo currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $185.53.

PepsiCo Stock Down 0.2 %

PEP stock opened at $176.87 on Wednesday. PepsiCo, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $155.83 and a fifty-two week high of $183.41. The company has a market capitalization of $243.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.53. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $172.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $171.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.83.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 11th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $22.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.59 billion. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 57.37% and a net margin of 10.34%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.09 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 6th will be paid a dividend of $1.355 per share. This represents a $5.42 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 6th. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is currently 78.66%.

About PepsiCo

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.