LS Investment Advisors LLC Sells 39,813 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

LS Investment Advisors LLC lowered its position in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 71.1% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 16,145 shares of the company’s stock after selling 39,813 shares during the quarter. LS Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $2,421,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Collier Financial acquired a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. acquired a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PEP has been the topic of several research reports. CICC Research reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Friday, February 7th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $158.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $155.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Dbs Bank lowered shares of PepsiCo from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $160.69.

PepsiCo Trading Down 0.1%

NASDAQ:PEP opened at $131.74 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.82. The firm has a market cap of $180.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.47. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 52 week low of $127.75 and a 52 week high of $180.91. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $136.92 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $146.62.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $17.92 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.81 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.61 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be given a dividend of $1.4225 per share. This is an increase from PepsiCo’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.36. This represents a $5.69 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is currently 83.68%.

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.