Morse Asset Management Inc Reduces Position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Morse Asset Management Inc decreased its stake in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 85.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 856 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,000 shares during the period. Morse Asset Management Inc’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $130,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of PEP. Tcfg Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Tcfg Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,938 shares of the company’s stock worth $295,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Lincoln Capital LLC boosted its holdings in PepsiCo by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Lincoln Capital LLC now owns 16,808 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,556,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in PepsiCo by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Marshall Financial Group LLC now owns 3,128 shares of the company’s stock valued at $476,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Osprey Private Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in PepsiCo by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Osprey Private Wealth LLC now owns 15,060 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,290,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TAGStone Capital Inc. boosted its holdings in PepsiCo by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. TAGStone Capital Inc. now owns 2,527 shares of the company’s stock valued at $388,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

PepsiCo Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of NASDAQ PEP opened at $130.31 on Wednesday. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 1 year low of $129.75 and a 1 year high of $183.41. The firm has a market cap of $178.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.75, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.47. 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 stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $142.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $150.32.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.01). PepsiCo had a return on equity of 58.87% and a net margin of 10.43%. The business had revenue of $17.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.81 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.61 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th will be issued a $1.4225 dividend. This is a positive change from PepsiCo’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.36. This represents a $5.69 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is currently 83.68%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on PEP. Bank of America reduced their target price on PepsiCo from $155.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. UBS Group reduced their target price on PepsiCo from $175.00 to $169.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. BNP Paribas reduced their target price on PepsiCo from $162.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on PepsiCo from $158.00 to $159.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Evercore ISI set a $140.00 price objective on PepsiCo in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $160.69.

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.