First Financial Corp IN Sells 214 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

First Financial Corp IN trimmed its position in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 6.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,081 shares of the company’s stock after selling 214 shares during the quarter. First Financial Corp IN’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $539,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Cerity Partners LLC raised its holdings in PepsiCo by 59.4% in the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 993,567 shares of the company’s stock worth $168,747,000 after purchasing an additional 370,122 shares during the period. Harbour Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Harbour Capital Advisors LLC now owns 27,446 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,747,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the period. Meadow Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in PepsiCo in the 4th quarter worth approximately $405,000. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC raised its stake in PepsiCo by 34.5% during the 4th quarter. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC now owns 12,317 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,091,000 after acquiring an additional 3,159 shares during the period. Finally, Marion Wealth Management lifted its holdings in PepsiCo by 31.7% during the fourth quarter. Marion Wealth Management now owns 7,888 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,340,000 after purchasing an additional 1,900 shares in the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

Shares of PEP stock traded down $0.65 on Wednesday, hitting $166.70. The company had a trading volume of 2,127,551 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,479,711. The firm has a market cap of $229.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.52. PepsiCo, Inc. has a twelve month low of $155.83 and a twelve month high of $192.38. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $173.73 and a 200-day moving average price of $170.37. 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 released 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 company had revenue of $18.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.08 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.50 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be paid a dividend of $1.355 per share. This is a positive change from PepsiCo’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.27. This represents a $5.42 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 7th. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is 81.50%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on PEP shares. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Monday. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $174.00 price target on the stock. 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. Morgan Stanley raised shares of PepsiCo from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $190.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, March 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on PepsiCo from $181.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Argus cut PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $186.38.

Insider Buying and Selling at PepsiCo

In other PepsiCo 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 53,953 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,603,634. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

PepsiCo Company 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.