PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) Position Trimmed by Braun Stacey Associates Inc.

Braun Stacey Associates Inc. reduced its holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 2.0% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 98,651 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,009 shares during the period. Braun Stacey Associates Inc.’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $17,265,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in PepsiCo by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 19,001,928 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,227,287,000 after purchasing an additional 578,083 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in PepsiCo in the fourth quarter valued at $2,686,139,000. California Public Employees Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 17.9% during the fourth quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 9,664,323 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,641,389,000 after acquiring an additional 1,470,064 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 17.7% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,954,951 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,520,909,000 after acquiring an additional 1,345,065 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in PepsiCo by 15.1% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 8,421,163 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,430,250,000 after purchasing an additional 1,105,127 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on PEP. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $209.00 to $211.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 16th. Barclays lowered their target price on PepsiCo from $185.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $195.00 price target on shares of PepsiCo in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Argus lowered PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised shares of PepsiCo from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $190.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $186.64.

PepsiCo Price Performance

Shares of PEP traded up $1.79 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $164.39. 4,208,217 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,996,291. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $172.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $170.10. The company has a market capitalization of $226.00 billion, a PE ratio of 24.72, a PEG ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.68. PepsiCo, Inc. has a one year low of $155.83 and a one year high of $192.38.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.61 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by $0.09. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 57.37% and a net margin of 10.00%. The firm had revenue of $18.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.08 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.50 EPS. PepsiCo’s revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.16 earnings per share for the current year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th were paid a $1.355 dividend. This is a positive change from PepsiCo’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.27. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 7th. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.30%. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 81.50%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Ramkumar Krishnan sold 5,620 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.00, for a total transaction of $1,000,360.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 53,953 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,603,634. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

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.