Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. Sells 3,082 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. decreased its position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 3.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 81,803 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,082 shares during the period. PepsiCo comprises 0.8% of Ameritas Investment Partners Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc.’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $13,492,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its holdings in PepsiCo by 8.5% during the second quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 121,512 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,040,000 after purchasing an additional 9,567 shares during the last quarter. Boston Research & Management Inc. raised its holdings in PepsiCo by 2.3% during the second quarter. Boston Research & Management Inc. now owns 32,468 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,355,000 after acquiring an additional 721 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. boosted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 389,241 shares of the company’s stock valued at $64,186,000 after buying an additional 10,547 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in PepsiCo by 14.1% in the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 201,035 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,157,000 after acquiring an additional 24,835 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ grew its position in shares of PepsiCo by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 276,480 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,594,000 after acquiring an additional 2,502 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

PepsiCo Price Performance

PEP stock opened at $171.18 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $173.51 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $171.74. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 12 month low of $155.83 and a 12 month high of $183.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87. The firm has a market cap of $235.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.84, a P/E/G ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.53.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 11th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $22.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.59 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.09 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be paid a dividend of $1.355 per share. This represents a $5.42 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.17%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 6th. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is 78.66%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on PEP shares. TD Cowen reduced their price target on PepsiCo from $200.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. DZ Bank lowered PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $183.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Friday, July 19th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on PepsiCo from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, PepsiCo currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $185.53.

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.