PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) Shares Sold by Clarius Group LLC

Clarius Group LLC cut its stake in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 9.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 11,905 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,187 shares during the period. Clarius Group LLC’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $1,785,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. GSB Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in PepsiCo by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. GSB Wealth Management LLC now owns 17,712 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,656,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Boomfish Wealth Group LLC lifted its position in shares of PepsiCo by 2.0% during the first quarter. Boomfish Wealth Group LLC now owns 9,840 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,475,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. PKO Investment Management Joint Stock Co purchased a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the first quarter valued at approximately $4,498,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 199.8% in the first quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 1,280 shares of the company’s stock valued at $192,000 after purchasing an additional 853 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Demars Financial Group LLC increased its stake in PepsiCo by 4.1% during the 1st quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC now owns 975,230 shares of the company’s stock worth $146,226,000 after buying an additional 38,368 shares during the period. 73.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $171.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. UBS Group lowered their target price on PepsiCo from $175.00 to $169.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Bank of America cut their price target on PepsiCo from $155.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. Barclays decreased their price objective on PepsiCo from $143.00 to $135.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $168.00 to $153.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, PepsiCo currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $160.69.

PepsiCo Stock Down 1.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:PEP opened at $129.29 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $134.13 and a 200-day simple moving average of $144.63. PepsiCo, Inc. has a twelve month low of $127.75 and a twelve month high of $180.91. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.13. The company has a market capitalization of $177.27 billion, a PE ratio of 19.01, a P/E/G ratio of 3.77 and a beta of 0.45.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $17.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.81 billion. PepsiCo had a net margin of 10.24% and a return on equity of 58.28%. PepsiCo’s revenue was down 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.61 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 EPS for the current fiscal 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 given 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 4.40%. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is 83.68%.

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.