Stephens Consulting LLC Sells 164 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Stephens Consulting LLC trimmed its stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 5.1% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 3,022 shares of the company’s stock after selling 164 shares during the quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $453,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC purchased a new position in PepsiCo during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in PepsiCo during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. purchased a new position in PepsiCo during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new position in PepsiCo during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. 73.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

PepsiCo Price Performance

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

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

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be given a $1.4225 dividend. 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.33%. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is 83.68%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on PEP. UBS Group dropped their target price on PepsiCo from $175.00 to $169.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Barclays dropped their target price on PepsiCo from $143.00 to $135.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on PepsiCo from $158.00 to $159.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Evercore ISI set a $140.00 price target on PepsiCo in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group downgraded PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $171.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. One equities 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $160.69.

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.