Patten Group Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Patten Group Inc. decreased its holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 1.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,557 shares of the company’s stock after selling 245 shares during the period. Patten Group Inc.’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $3,156,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings in PepsiCo by 7.2% in the second 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 boosted its position in shares of PepsiCo by 7.4% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 10,147,530 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,673,632,000 after acquiring an additional 700,092 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 561,465 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in PepsiCo by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,130,517 shares of the company’s stock worth $846,030,000 after purchasing an additional 57,322 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Flossbach Von Storch AG increased its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 67.2% in the first quarter. Flossbach Von Storch AG now owns 4,560,007 shares of the company’s stock worth $798,047,000 after purchasing an additional 1,832,385 shares during the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PepsiCo Trading Up 1.2 %

PepsiCo stock opened at $172.54 on Thursday. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 52 week low of $157.43 and a 52 week 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 company has a market capitalization of $237.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.53. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $173.63 and a 200 day moving average price of $172.06.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 8th. The company reported $2.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $23.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $23.86 billion. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 57.37% and a net margin of 10.34%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.25 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.13 EPS for the current year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 6th were given a dividend of $1.355 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 6th. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.14%. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is currently 78.66%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on PepsiCo from $177.00 to $176.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 4th. DZ Bank cut shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $183.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Friday, July 19th. BNP Paribas started coverage on PepsiCo in a research report on Monday, June 24th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $174.00 price target for the company. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of PepsiCo from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $184.79.

PepsiCo 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.