Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. Cuts Stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. lessened its stake in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 10.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 29,622 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,436 shares during the quarter. PepsiCo makes up approximately 0.5% of Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest position. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $5,031,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Main Street Research LLC boosted its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 34.7% during the fourth quarter. Main Street Research LLC now owns 2,492 shares of the company’s stock valued at $426,000 after purchasing an additional 642 shares during the period. Octavia Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in PepsiCo by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Octavia Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 15,142 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,591,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares during the period. Marino Stram & Associates LLC lifted its stake in PepsiCo by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Marino Stram & Associates LLC now owns 18,618 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,162,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the period. Marietta Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in PepsiCo by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Marietta Wealth Management LLC now owns 36,966 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,278,000 after acquiring an additional 1,656 shares during the period. Finally, Suncoast Equity Management lifted its stake in PepsiCo by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Suncoast Equity Management now owns 12,147 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,063,000 after acquiring an additional 375 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on PEP shares. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $180.00 price target on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Barclays raised their price target on PepsiCo from $183.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Citigroup raised PepsiCo from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $180.00 to $195.00 in a research note on Monday, February 12th. StockNews.com downgraded PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on PepsiCo from $199.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $186.92.

PepsiCo Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:PEP traded up $1.23 on Tuesday, hitting $168.18. 2,550,149 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,718,324. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 52 week low of $155.83 and a 52 week high of $196.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $168.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $167.38. The company has a market cap of $231.17 billion, a PE ratio of 25.61, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.53.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 58.03% and a net margin of 9.92%. The firm had revenue of $27.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $28.40 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.67 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.15 earnings per share for the current year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 1st were issued a $1.265 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $5.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.01%. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is 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.