PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) Shares Sold by Exchange Capital Management Inc.

Exchange Capital Management Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 3.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 22,536 shares of the company’s stock after selling 737 shares during the quarter. Exchange Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $3,944,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in PEP. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of PepsiCo by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 19,001,928 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,227,287,000 after purchasing an additional 578,083 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in PepsiCo during the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,686,139,000. California Public Employees Retirement System lifted its stake in PepsiCo by 17.9% in the fourth quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 9,664,323 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,641,389,000 after buying an additional 1,470,064 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 17.7% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,954,951 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,520,909,000 after acquiring an additional 1,345,065 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 15.1% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 8,421,163 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,430,250,000 after acquiring an additional 1,105,127 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

PEP opened at $163.58 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $173.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $170.26. The stock has a market cap of $224.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.52. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 1-year low of $155.83 and a 1-year high of $192.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.68.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.61 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.08 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.50 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th were paid a $1.355 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 7th. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.31%. This is a positive change from PepsiCo’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.27. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is presently 81.50%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on PEP shares. 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 price objective on the stock. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $195.00 price target on shares of PepsiCo in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Argus cut PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Barclays cut their price target on PepsiCo from $185.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th. 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 report on Monday, March 18th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $186.38.

Insider Buying and Selling at PepsiCo

In other news, CEO Ramkumar Krishnan sold 5,620 shares of the company’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 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.14% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.