Bell Bank Lowers Stock Position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Bell Bank lowered its position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 3.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,096 shares of the company’s stock after selling 118 shares during the period. Bell Bank’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $464,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. PKO Investment Management Joint Stock Co purchased a new stake in PepsiCo during the first quarter worth about $4,498,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its holdings in PepsiCo by 199.8% during the first quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 1,280 shares of the company’s stock worth $192,000 after buying an additional 853 shares during the last quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in PepsiCo by 4.1% during the first quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC now owns 975,230 shares of the company’s stock worth $146,226,000 after buying an additional 38,368 shares during the last quarter. Bfsg LLC increased its holdings in PepsiCo by 1.7% during the first quarter. Bfsg LLC now owns 12,276 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,841,000 after buying an additional 208 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lesa Sroufe & Co purchased a new stake in PepsiCo during the first quarter worth about $559,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $171.00 to $170.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Dbs Bank downgraded shares of PepsiCo from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $143.00 to $135.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 28th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $175.00 to $169.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Evercore ISI set a $140.00 target price on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $160.69.

PepsiCo Price Performance

PEP stock opened at $131.41 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $134.45 and a 200-day moving average of $144.73. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 12 month low of $127.75 and a 12 month high of $180.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $180.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.45.

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

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be given a dividend of $1.4225 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. This is a positive change from PepsiCo’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.36. This represents a $5.69 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.33%. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is presently 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.