Connors Investor Services Inc. Sells 18,278 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Connors Investor Services Inc. decreased its position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 21.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 65,738 shares of the company’s stock after selling 18,278 shares during the quarter. Connors Investor Services Inc.’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $11,505,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in PepsiCo in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,686,139,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in PepsiCo by 9,623.6% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,058,061 shares of the company’s stock valued at $519,381,000 after purchasing an additional 3,026,611 shares during the last quarter. Flossbach Von Storch AG lifted its position in PepsiCo by 67.2% in the first quarter. Flossbach Von Storch AG now owns 4,560,007 shares of the company’s stock valued at $798,047,000 after purchasing an additional 1,832,385 shares during the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System lifted its position in PepsiCo by 17.9% in 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 purchasing an additional 1,470,064 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in PepsiCo by 17.7% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,954,951 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,520,909,000 after purchasing an additional 1,345,065 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $195.00 price objective on shares of PepsiCo in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on PepsiCo from $184.00 to $182.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 12th. BNP Paribas started coverage on PepsiCo in a research note on Monday, June 24th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $174.00 target price on the stock. DZ Bank cut PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $183.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Friday. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on PepsiCo from $190.00 to $185.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Eight 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 an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $185.53.

PepsiCo Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ PEP traded down $1.01 during trading on Friday, reaching $169.36. The company had a trading volume of 5,332,848 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,599,835. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 12-month low of $155.83 and a 12-month high of $192.38. The stock has a market cap of $232.63 billion, a PE ratio of 24.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.52. The business’s 50-day moving average is $169.91 and its 200 day moving average is $169.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 11th. The company reported $2.28 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.12. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 57.37% and a net margin of 10.34%. The firm had revenue of $22.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.59 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.09 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th were paid a $1.355 dividend. This is a boost from PepsiCo’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.27. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 7th. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is currently 78.66%.

Insider Transactions at PepsiCo

In other 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

PepsiCo 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.