PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) Stake Decreased by Federated Hermes Inc.

Federated Hermes Inc. lessened its stake in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 17.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 428,727 shares of the company’s stock after selling 87,578 shares during the quarter. Federated Hermes Inc.’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $72,815,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Wright Investors Service Inc. acquired a new position in PepsiCo in the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,241,000. Flossbach Von Storch AG grew its position in PepsiCo by 121.4% during the 4th quarter. Flossbach Von Storch AG now owns 2,727,622 shares of the company’s stock worth $463,259,000 after purchasing an additional 1,495,586 shares in the last quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt grew its position in PepsiCo by 12.8% during the 4th quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 19,317 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,299,000 after purchasing an additional 2,193 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its position in PepsiCo by 7.6% during the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 213,807 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,313,000 after purchasing an additional 15,148 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oakworth Capital Inc. grew its position in PepsiCo by 23.8% during the 4th quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. now owns 10,421 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,770,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

PepsiCo Stock Up 1.6 %

PepsiCo stock opened at $172.27 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $236.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.68. PepsiCo, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $155.83 and a fifty-two week high of $196.88. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $168.55 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $167.42.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last released its earnings results on Friday, February 9th. The company reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.72 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $27.84 billion during 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 was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.67 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.15 earnings per share for the current year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st were issued a dividend of $1.265 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $5.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.94%. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is 77.02%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PEP has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $199.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of PepsiCo from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $190.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 18th. Citigroup upgraded shares of PepsiCo from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $180.00 to $195.00 in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $183.00 to $184.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $195.00 target price on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Six investment 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 company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $186.92.

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.