PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) Shares Sold by Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S.

Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. lowered its holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 99.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,665 shares of the company’s stock after selling 186,494 shares during the period. Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S.’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $253,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Collier Financial acquired a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 93.2% in the 3rd quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 199 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on PEP. TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $183.00 to $160.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $183.00 to $165.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada started coverage on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. They set a $172.00 price target for the company. Finally, BNP Paribas decreased their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $162.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $170.59.

PepsiCo Price Performance

NASDAQ PEP opened at $148.17 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $148.82 and a 200 day simple moving average of $160.37. The company has a market cap of $203.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.32, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.52. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 1 year low of $141.51 and a 1 year high of $183.41.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $27.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $27.89 billion. PepsiCo had a net margin of 10.43% and a return on equity of 58.87%. PepsiCo’s quarterly revenue was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.78 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 EPS for the current year.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $1.355 per share. This represents a $5.42 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.66%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is currently 77.99%.

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.