Advisory Alpha LLC Sells 2,766 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Advisory Alpha LLC reduced its holdings in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 44.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,508 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,766 shares during the quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $526,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Tcfg Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Tcfg Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,938 shares of the company’s stock worth $295,000 after buying an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Osprey Private Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of PepsiCo by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Osprey Private Wealth LLC now owns 15,060 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,290,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. TAGStone Capital Inc. grew its position in shares of PepsiCo by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. TAGStone Capital Inc. now owns 2,527 shares of the company’s stock valued at $388,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Lokken Investment Group LLC boosted its position in shares of PepsiCo by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Lokken Investment Group LLC now owns 7,699 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,171,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Leavell Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of PepsiCo by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 27,844 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,271,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $168.00 to $153.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $171.00 to $170.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $155.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $160.69.

PepsiCo Price Performance

PEP stock opened at $131.62 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $180.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.94, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.82. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $137.98 and its 200 day moving average is $147.15. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 52 week low of $127.75 and a 52 week high of $180.91.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.48 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.49 by ($0.01). PepsiCo had a return on equity of 58.87% and a net margin of 10.43%. The company had revenue of $17.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.81 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.61 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be paid a dividend of $1.4225 per share. This is a positive change from PepsiCo’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.36. This represents a $5.69 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 83.68%.

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.