Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Cuts Stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. trimmed its position in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 85.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 8,921 shares of the company’s stock after selling 51,789 shares during the quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $1,338,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Legacy Financial Group LLC raised its position in PepsiCo by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. Legacy Financial Group LLC now owns 1,514 shares of the company’s stock worth $227,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Pflug Koory LLC raised its position in PepsiCo by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Pflug Koory LLC now owns 7,750 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,162,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Hoge Financial Services LLC raised its position in PepsiCo by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Hoge Financial Services LLC now owns 3,633 shares of the company’s stock worth $545,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Members Trust Co lifted its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Members Trust Co now owns 5,941 shares of the company’s stock worth $891,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the period. Finally, Fairview Capital Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Fairview Capital Investment Management LLC now owns 3,526 shares of the company’s stock worth $536,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PEP has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $140.00 to $154.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Barclays raised their target price on PepsiCo from $132.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Citigroup boosted their price target on PepsiCo from $160.00 to $168.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $148.00 price objective on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $158.73.

PepsiCo Stock Up 0.2%

NASDAQ PEP opened at $139.56 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $134.83 and a 200-day moving average price of $140.77. PepsiCo, Inc. has a one year low of $127.60 and a one year high of $180.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.78. The company has a market capitalization of $191.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.42, a P/E/G ratio of 3.71 and a beta of 0.45.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 17th. The company reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.09. PepsiCo had a net margin of 8.23% and a return on equity of 57.81%. The business had revenue of $22.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.28 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.28 earnings per share. PepsiCo’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be given a dividend of $1.4225 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $5.69 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.1%. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is 103.64%.

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.