Paulson Wealth Management Inc. Sells 388 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Paulson Wealth Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 11.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,926 shares of the company’s stock after selling 388 shares during the quarter. Paulson Wealth Management Inc.’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $483,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of PepsiCo by 3.1% during 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 acquiring an additional 578,083 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in PepsiCo during the 4th quarter worth $2,686,139,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in PepsiCo by 17.7% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,954,951 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,520,909,000 after purchasing an additional 1,345,065 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 15.1% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 8,421,163 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,430,250,000 after buying an additional 1,105,127 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 6.0% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,644,059 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,128,413,000 after buying an additional 375,963 shares during the period. 73.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PEP has been the topic of several recent research reports. StockNews.com cut shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on PepsiCo in a report on Monday, June 24th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $174.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $210.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Barclays increased their price objective on PepsiCo from $179.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $180.00 to $177.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 12th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $185.53.

PepsiCo Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of PEP stock traded up $0.10 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $175.97. 4,146,743 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,459,578. The company has a market capitalization of $241.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.65, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.52. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $169.18 and its 200 day simple moving average is $170.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.83. PepsiCo, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $155.83 and a fifty-two week high of $183.41.

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

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 6th will be issued a $1.355 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 6th. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.08%. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.