PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) Shares Sold by Moreno Evelyn V

Moreno Evelyn V lessened its holdings in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 67.7% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 15,194 shares of the company’s stock after selling 31,780 shares during the period. Moreno Evelyn V’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $2,581,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 8.5% in the 4th quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 7,430 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,262,000 after buying an additional 579 shares in the last quarter. Banco de Sabadell S.A raised its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Banco de Sabadell S.A now owns 11,587 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,969,000 after buying an additional 399 shares in the last quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 9.3% in the 4th quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,059 shares of the company’s stock worth $865,000 after buying an additional 432 shares in the last quarter. Enterprise Financial Services Corp raised its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Enterprise Financial Services Corp now owns 69,165 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,747,000 after buying an additional 352 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tidemark LLC bought a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the 4th quarter worth $160,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

PepsiCo Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of PEP traded down $2.13 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $179.96. 1,179,634 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,458,809. The company has a market cap of $247.41 billion, a PE ratio of 27.19, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.52. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $174.02 and its 200-day moving average is $170.00. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 52 week low of $155.83 and a 52 week high of $192.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 0.86.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $18.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.08 billion. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 57.37% and a net margin of 10.00%. The firm’s revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.50 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th will be given a dividend of $1.355 per share. This represents a $5.42 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.01%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 7th. This is a boost from PepsiCo’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.27. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is currently 76.09%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on PEP shares. StockNews.com lowered PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $180.00 target price on shares of PepsiCo in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Citigroup raised PepsiCo from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $180.00 to $195.00 in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on PepsiCo from $181.00 to $184.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on PepsiCo from $209.00 to $211.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 16th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, PepsiCo presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $187.58.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Ramkumar Krishnan sold 5,620 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.00, for a total transaction of $1,000,360.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 53,953 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,603,634. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.15% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.