GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC Sells 1,915 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC lowered its position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 17.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,257 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,915 shares during the period. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $1,388,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Tcfg Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in PepsiCo by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Tcfg Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,938 shares of the company’s stock worth $295,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the period. TAGStone Capital Inc. boosted its position in PepsiCo by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. TAGStone Capital Inc. now owns 2,527 shares of the company’s stock valued at $388,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Lokken Investment Group LLC lifted its stake in PepsiCo by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Lokken Investment Group LLC now owns 7,699 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,171,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. increased its position in PepsiCo by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 27,844 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,271,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Financial Group LLC raised its stake in PepsiCo by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. Legacy Financial Group LLC now owns 1,514 shares of the company’s stock valued at $227,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the period. 73.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $143.00 to $135.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Citigroup dropped their price target on PepsiCo from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on PepsiCo from $175.00 to $169.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $171.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Evercore ISI set a $140.00 price target on shares of PepsiCo in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $160.69.

PepsiCo Stock Down 1.5%

Shares of NASDAQ PEP opened at $129.90 on Thursday. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 1 year low of $127.75 and a 1 year high of $180.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The firm has a market cap of $178.10 billion, a PE ratio of 18.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $135.04 and a 200 day simple moving average of $145.63.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.49 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $17.92 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.81 billion. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 58.87% and a net margin of 10.43%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.61 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 EPS for the current year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be issued a dividend of $1.4225 per share. This is a positive change from PepsiCo’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.36. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $5.69 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.38%. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 83.68%.

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.