Janus Henderson Group PLC Sells 15,372 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Janus Henderson Group PLC lessened its stake in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 4.5% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 326,452 shares of the company’s stock after selling 15,372 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $57,135,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in PepsiCo by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 19,001,928 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,227,287,000 after buying an additional 578,083 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in PepsiCo in the fourth quarter worth $2,686,139,000. California Public Employees Retirement System grew its holdings in PepsiCo by 17.9% in the fourth quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 9,664,323 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,641,389,000 after purchasing an additional 1,470,064 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in PepsiCo by 17.7% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,954,951 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,520,909,000 after purchasing an additional 1,345,065 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in PepsiCo by 15.1% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 8,421,163 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,430,250,000 after purchasing an additional 1,105,127 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Ramkumar Krishnan sold 5,620 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.00, for a total transaction of $1,000,360.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 53,953 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,603,634. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on PEP shares. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $195.00 price target on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. BNP Paribas began coverage on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Monday, June 24th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $174.00 price objective on the stock. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $200.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Argus lowered shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $190.00 to $185.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 12th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, PepsiCo has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $185.53.

PepsiCo Price Performance

Shares of PepsiCo stock traded down $0.03 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $173.18. The stock had a trading volume of 4,985,381 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,514,207. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $168.58 and its 200 day moving average is $169.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $237.87 billion, a PE ratio of 24.97, a PEG ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.52. PepsiCo, Inc. has a twelve month low of $155.83 and a twelve month high of $189.97. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87.

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

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be given a $1.355 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 6th. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.13%. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 78.66%.

PepsiCo Company 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.