Traynor Capital Management Inc. Sells 109 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Traynor Capital Management Inc. trimmed its position in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 3.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,786 shares of the company’s stock after selling 109 shares during the period. Traynor Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $488,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of PEP. Norges Bank purchased a new position in PepsiCo during the fourth quarter valued at $2,686,139,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 9,623.6% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,058,061 shares of the company’s stock worth $519,381,000 after buying an additional 3,026,611 shares in the last quarter. Flossbach Von Storch AG grew its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 121.4% in the 4th quarter. Flossbach Von Storch AG now owns 2,727,622 shares of the company’s stock worth $463,259,000 after buying an additional 1,495,586 shares in the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System grew its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 17.9% in the 4th quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 9,664,323 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,641,389,000 after buying an additional 1,470,064 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 17.7% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,954,951 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,520,909,000 after buying an additional 1,345,065 shares in the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PepsiCo Trading Up 0.5 %

NASDAQ:PEP opened at $168.08 on Tuesday. PepsiCo, Inc. has a one year low of $155.83 and a one year high of $192.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 0.86. The firm has a market cap of $231.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.52. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $173.73 and a 200-day simple moving average of $170.36.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.61 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.09. PepsiCo had a net margin of 10.00% and a return on equity of 57.37%. The business had revenue of $18.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.08 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.50 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be issued a $1.355 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 7th. This represents a $5.42 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.22%. This is a positive change from PepsiCo’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.27. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is currently 81.50%.

Insider Transactions at PepsiCo

In other news, CEO Ramkumar Krishnan sold 5,620 shares of PepsiCo stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.00, for a total value of $1,000,360.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 53,953 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,603,634. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Argus cut shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $185.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $178.00 to $181.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $195.00 price target on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $209.00 to $211.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 16th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $186.15.

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.