Seneca House Advisors Lowers Stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Seneca House Advisors cut its position in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 9.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,131 shares of the company’s stock after selling 763 shares during the quarter. Seneca House Advisors’ holdings in PepsiCo were worth $1,248,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA lifted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 80.5% during the 4th quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 157 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC lifted its position in PepsiCo by 100.0% during the 4th quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC now owns 194 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Life Planning Partners Inc purchased a new position in PepsiCo in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of PepsiCo during the first quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Naples Money Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the fourth quarter worth $36,000. 73.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PepsiCo Stock Down 0.8 %

PepsiCo stock opened at $164.93 on Monday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $173.37 and a 200-day simple moving average of $170.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $226.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 0.86. PepsiCo, Inc. has a one year low of $155.83 and a one year high of $192.38.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.61 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 10.00% and a return on equity of 57.37%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.50 earnings per share. As a group, equities 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 was paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th were issued a $1.355 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 7th. This represents a $5.42 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.29%. This is an increase from PepsiCo’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.27. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is presently 81.50%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on PEP. Morgan Stanley raised shares of PepsiCo from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $190.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 18th. BNP Paribas began coverage on shares of PepsiCo in a research report on Monday, June 24th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $174.00 target price on the stock. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $185.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $181.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $186.38.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other PepsiCo news, CEO Ramkumar Krishnan sold 5,620 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

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.