PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) Shares Sold by Close Asset Management Ltd

Close Asset Management Ltd lowered its stake in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 23.0% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 25,115 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,501 shares during the period. Close Asset Management Ltd’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $3,766,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of PEP. Forbes J M & Co. LLP boosted its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Forbes J M & Co. LLP now owns 91,069 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,655,000 after buying an additional 2,219 shares during the last quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp grew its holdings in PepsiCo by 90.3% during the first quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp now owns 3,888 shares of the company’s stock worth $583,000 after acquiring an additional 1,845 shares during the period. Granite Group Advisors LLC grew its holdings in PepsiCo by 51.1% during the first quarter. Granite Group Advisors LLC now owns 17,680 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,651,000 after acquiring an additional 5,977 shares during the period. Oak Thistle LLC acquired a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the 1st quarter valued at $2,688,000. Finally, Efficient Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the 1st quarter valued at $681,000. 73.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Bank of America lowered their price target on PepsiCo from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 11th. Dbs Bank lowered PepsiCo from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on PepsiCo from $150.00 to $139.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Citigroup boosted their price target on PepsiCo from $160.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Thursday, July 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $158.73.

PepsiCo Trading Up 3.1%

Shares of PepsiCo stock opened at $146.04 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $199.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.60, a PEG ratio of 4.34 and a beta of 0.45. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $132.23 and a 200 day moving average of $141.04. PepsiCo, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $127.60 and a fifty-two week high of $180.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.78.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The company reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.09. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 57.81% and a net margin of 8.23%. The company had revenue of $22.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.28 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.28 EPS. PepsiCo’s revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th were issued a dividend of $1.4225 per share. This is an increase from PepsiCo’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.36. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 6th. This represents a $5.69 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.90%. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is presently 103.64%.

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.