PAX Financial Group LLC Decreases Stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

PAX Financial Group LLC decreased its holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 23.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,854 shares of the company’s stock after selling 890 shares during the period. PAX Financial Group LLC’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $434,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Collier Financial purchased a new stake in PepsiCo during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in PepsiCo during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com cut PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. UBS Group cut their price objective on PepsiCo from $193.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $184.00 to $178.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $185.00 to $168.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their price target on PepsiCo from $180.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $169.88.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

PepsiCo stock opened at $146.61 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05. PepsiCo, Inc. has a twelve month low of $141.51 and a twelve month high of $183.41. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $149.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $157.21. The company has a market cap of $201.05 billion, a PE ratio of 21.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.49.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $27.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $27.89 billion. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 58.87% and a net margin of 10.43%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.78 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a $1.355 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.42 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.70%. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.99%.

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.