Bridgewater Associates LP Sells 1,107,278 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Bridgewater Associates LP lowered its stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 59.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 757,894 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,107,278 shares during the quarter. PepsiCo comprises approximately 0.7% of Bridgewater Associates LP’s holdings, making the stock its 27th largest holding. Bridgewater Associates LP owned 0.06% of PepsiCo worth $128,880,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 21,360,850 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,632,413,000 after purchasing an additional 1,125,059 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its holdings in PepsiCo by 7.2% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 13,547,547 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,234,400,000 after acquiring an additional 905,468 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in PepsiCo by 2.3% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 10,383,621 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,765,735,000 after purchasing an additional 236,091 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in PepsiCo by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 7,854,268 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,335,618,000 after buying an additional 422,080 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in PepsiCo by 8.2% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,403,398 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,221,089,000 after buying an additional 561,465 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on PEP. Bank of America decreased their target price on PepsiCo from $190.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $177.00 to $176.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 4th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of PepsiCo from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded PepsiCo to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $180.00 to $179.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $183.92.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PEP opened at $162.16 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $222.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.92, a PEG ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 0.89. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $168.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $170.66. PepsiCo, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $155.85 and a fifty-two week high of $183.41.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 8th. The company reported $2.31 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.01. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 57.32% and a net margin of 10.18%. The business had revenue of $23.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $23.86 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.25 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.15 EPS for the current year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be given a dividend of $1.355 per share. This represents a $5.42 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 79.94%.

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.