Argus Investors Counsel Inc. Sells 1,530 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Argus Investors Counsel Inc. lowered its stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 29.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,714 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,530 shares during the period. Argus Investors Counsel Inc.’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $557,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in PepsiCo in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC bought a new stake in PepsiCo during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in PepsiCo in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. acquired a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new position in PepsiCo in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $163.00 target price on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group cut PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $171.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on PepsiCo from $158.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Dbs Bank lowered PepsiCo from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $160.69.

PepsiCo Price Performance

PepsiCo stock opened at $132.30 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $134.82 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $145.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $181.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.04, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.82. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 52-week low of $127.75 and a 52-week high of $180.91.

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

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The firm 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 $1.4225 dividend. This represents a $5.69 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.30%. This is a positive change from PepsiCo’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.36. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 83.68%.

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.