Altfest L J & Co. Inc. Has $978,000 Position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Altfest L J & Co. Inc. decreased its holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 1.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,523 shares of the company’s stock after selling 94 shares during the quarter. Altfest L J & Co. Inc.’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $978,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Elite Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in PepsiCo during the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. acquired a new stake in PepsiCo in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. acquired a new position in PepsiCo during the 4th quarter worth $38,000. Bridge Generations Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in PepsiCo in the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Sunbeam Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PepsiCo during the 4th quarter worth approximately $47,000. 73.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Dbs Bank downgraded PepsiCo from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 11th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $140.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Evercore ISI set a $140.00 price objective on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on PepsiCo from $153.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, PepsiCo presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $158.73.

PepsiCo Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of PEP stock opened at $140.80 on Thursday. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 52-week low of $127.60 and a 52-week high of $179.73. The stock has a market cap of $192.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.65, a PEG ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 0.45. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $134.99 and its 200-day moving average is $140.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.78.

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

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The company 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.0%. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 103.64%.

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.