Martin Capital Partners LLC Sells 307 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Martin Capital Partners LLC lessened its holdings in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 1.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 21,907 shares of the company’s stock after selling 307 shares during the period. Martin Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $3,834,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of PEP. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of PepsiCo during the 4th quarter valued at $2,686,139,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of PepsiCo by 9,623.6% during the 4th 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 increased its position in shares of PepsiCo by 121.4% during the 4th quarter. Flossbach Von Storch AG now owns 2,727,622 shares of the company’s stock valued at $463,259,000 after purchasing an additional 1,495,586 shares during the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System increased its position in shares of PepsiCo by 17.9% during the 4th 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. increased its position in shares of PepsiCo by 17.7% during the 4th 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.

PepsiCo Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PEP opened at $166.48 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $173.76 and its 200 day moving average price is $170.36. The firm has a market cap of $228.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.52. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 52 week low of $155.83 and a 52 week high of $192.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.61 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 analyst estimates of $18.08 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.50 earnings per share. PepsiCo’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.16 earnings per share for the current year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be given a $1.355 dividend. This represents a $5.42 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 7th. This is a positive change from PepsiCo’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.27. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is currently 81.50%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on PEP. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $185.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. Argus downgraded PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Morgan Stanley upgraded PepsiCo from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $190.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on PepsiCo from $209.00 to $211.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on PepsiCo from $178.00 to $181.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $187.17.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Ramkumar Krishnan sold 5,620 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 53,953 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,603,634. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

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.