Banco Santander S.A. Decreases Stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Banco Santander S.A. reduced its position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 2.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 14,699 shares of the company’s stock after selling 370 shares during the period. Banco Santander S.A.’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $2,235,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Collier Financial purchased a new stake in PepsiCo during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC purchased a new stake in PepsiCo during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in PepsiCo during the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its position in PepsiCo by 93.2% during the third quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 199 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. Finally, Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in PepsiCo during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 73.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. CICC Research restated a “market perform” rating on shares of PepsiCo in a research report on Friday, February 7th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on PepsiCo from $193.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on PepsiCo from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $153.00 to $168.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada started coverage on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. They set a $172.00 target price for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $172.35.

PepsiCo Stock Down 0.1 %

NASDAQ:PEP opened at $154.44 on Monday. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 1-year low of $141.51 and a 1-year high of $183.41. The company has a 50-day moving average of $148.80 and a 200 day moving average of $160.76. The firm has a market cap of $211.81 billion, a PE ratio of 22.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.65.

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

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $1.355 per share. This represents a $5.42 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is 77.99%.

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.