Birch Capital Management LLC Reduces Holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Birch Capital Management LLC lessened its stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 17.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,297 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,148 shares during the period. Birch Capital Management LLC’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $927,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in PEP. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA boosted its holdings in PepsiCo by 80.5% in the fourth quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 157 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. Fortis Group Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 100.0% during the fourth quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC now owns 194 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the period. Life Planning Partners Inc acquired a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Naples Money Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. Institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on PEP shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $178.00 to $181.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $185.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $209.00 to $211.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 16th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $195.00 price objective on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of PepsiCo from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $190.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, PepsiCo has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $186.15.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Ramkumar Krishnan sold 5,620 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.00, for a total value of $1,000,360.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 53,953 shares in the company, valued at $9,603,634. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.15% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

PepsiCo Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of PEP stock opened at $167.64 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $173.71 and a 200-day moving average of $170.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96. The firm has a market cap of $230.47 billion, a PE ratio of 25.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.52. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 12 month low of $155.83 and a 12 month high of $192.38.

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. The business had revenue of $18.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.08 billion. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 57.37% and a net margin of 10.00%. PepsiCo’s revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.50 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.16 EPS for the current year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be paid a $1.355 dividend. 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. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.23%. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 81.50%.

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.