Sentry Investment Management LLC Has $1.23 Million Stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Sentry Investment Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 9.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,219 shares of the company’s stock after selling 775 shares during the period. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $1,226,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Cerity Partners LLC increased its position in shares of PepsiCo by 59.4% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 993,567 shares of the company’s stock worth $168,747,000 after acquiring an additional 370,122 shares in the last quarter. Harbour Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of PepsiCo by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Harbour Capital Advisors LLC now owns 27,446 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,747,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Meadow Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of PepsiCo during the fourth quarter worth about $405,000. Manchester Capital Management LLC grew its position in PepsiCo by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 13,240 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,243,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC grew its position in PepsiCo by 34.5% in the 4th quarter. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC now owns 12,317 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,091,000 after purchasing an additional 3,159 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

PepsiCo Price Performance

NASDAQ PEP traded down $1.33 on Monday, hitting $166.77. The stock had a trading volume of 2,227,809 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,724,456. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 52-week low of $155.83 and a 52-week high of $196.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 0.85. The company has a market capitalization of $229.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.53. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $168.78 and a 200-day moving average of $167.40.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 9th. The company reported $1.78 earnings per share 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 analysts’ expectations of $28.40 billion. PepsiCo had a net margin of 9.92% and a return on equity of 58.03%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.67 EPS. Equities analysts expect that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.15 EPS for the current year.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st were given a dividend of $1.265 per share. This represents a $5.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.03%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 77.02%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PEP has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Argus downgraded shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $195.00 price objective on shares of PepsiCo in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $181.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Morgan Stanley raised 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 report on Monday, March 18th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $183.00 to $184.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently 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.