First Affirmative Financial Network Sells 2,061 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

First Affirmative Financial Network trimmed its holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 32.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,357 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,061 shares during the period. First Affirmative Financial Network’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $653,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the fourth quarter worth $2,729,565,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 19,106.5% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,588,614 shares of the company’s stock worth $688,017,000 after buying an additional 4,564,723 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the fourth quarter worth $589,307,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 18.1% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 25,217,043 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,834,504,000 after buying an additional 3,856,193 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the fourth quarter worth $221,297,000. 73.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

PepsiCo Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of PepsiCo stock opened at $130.03 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $178.28 billion, a PE ratio of 18.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $136.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $146.25. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 52-week low of $127.75 and a 52-week high of $180.91.

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

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be issued a $1.4225 dividend. This represents a $5.69 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. This is a positive change from PepsiCo’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.36. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is 83.68%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PEP has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $158.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $171.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $155.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price 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. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $160.69.

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.