Archer Investment Corp Sells 224 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Archer Investment Corp lessened its stake in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 2.1% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 10,417 shares of the company’s stock after selling 224 shares during the period. Archer Investment Corp’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $1,769,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Telos Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of PepsiCo by 6.9% during the 4th quarter. Telos Capital Management Inc. now owns 106,396 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,070,000 after buying an additional 6,887 shares during the period. Alpha Omega Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of PepsiCo by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Alpha Omega Wealth Management LLC now owns 18,208 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,092,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the period. Rakuten Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the 4th quarter worth approximately $113,000. TRUE Private Wealth Advisors increased its holdings in PepsiCo by 13.6% during the 4th quarter. TRUE Private Wealth Advisors now owns 31,599 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,367,000 after purchasing an additional 3,788 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Carl P. Sherr & Co. LLC increased its holdings in PepsiCo by 53.7% during the 4th quarter. Carl P. Sherr & Co. LLC now owns 10,665 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,811,000 after purchasing an additional 3,728 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

PepsiCo Trading Up 0.7 %

PEP stock traded up $1.23 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $168.73. 2,078,005 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,696,887. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $168.62 and its 200-day moving average price is $167.37. 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 cap of $231.92 billion, a PE ratio of 25.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.53. PepsiCo, Inc. has a one year low of $155.83 and a one year high of $196.88.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last posted its earnings results on Friday, February 9th. The company reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.72 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $27.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $28.40 billion. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 58.03% and a net margin of 9.92%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.67 earnings per share. Research analysts predict 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 was paid on Monday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st were given a dividend of $1.265 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $5.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.00%. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.02%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on PEP shares. StockNews.com cut PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $180.00 price target on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Monday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut PepsiCo from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $185.00 to $176.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 19th. Barclays lifted their target price on PepsiCo from $183.00 to $184.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised PepsiCo from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $190.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.