Avity Investment Management Inc. Reduces Stock Position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Avity Investment Management Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 27.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 193,989 shares of the company’s stock after selling 73,855 shares during the period. PepsiCo accounts for 2.3% of Avity Investment Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Avity Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $29,498,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Richard P Slaughter Associates Inc grew its holdings in PepsiCo by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Richard P Slaughter Associates Inc now owns 1,759 shares of the company’s stock worth $267,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in PepsiCo by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 26,389 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,013,000 after purchasing an additional 1,145 shares in the last quarter. Acropolis Investment Management LLC raised its stake in PepsiCo by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Acropolis Investment Management LLC now owns 8,338 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,268,000 after buying an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. lifted its holdings in PepsiCo by 32.9% during the 4th quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 17,689 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,690,000 after buying an additional 4,381 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in shares of PepsiCo by 104.2% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,705,574 shares of the company’s stock worth $259,350,000 after acquiring an additional 870,451 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays reduced their price objective on PepsiCo from $186.00 to $183.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $183.00 to $160.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $185.00 to $183.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on PepsiCo from $170.00 to $155.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic upgraded PepsiCo to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $180.64.

PepsiCo Trading Up 0.3 %

PepsiCo stock opened at $144.95 on Wednesday. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 12-month low of $141.51 and a 12-month high of $183.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $198.87 billion, a PE ratio of 21.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.54. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $156.46 and a 200-day simple moving average of $166.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.70.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th were given a dividend of $1.355 per share. This represents a $5.42 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.74%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 79.94%.

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.