Inspirion Wealth Advisors LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Inspirion Wealth Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 3.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,992 shares of the company’s stock after selling 115 shares during the quarter. Inspirion Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $524,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA increased its position in PepsiCo by 80.5% during the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC increased its stake in PepsiCo by 100.0% in the 4th quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC now owns 194 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the period. Life Planning Partners Inc purchased a new position in PepsiCo in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Naples Money Management LLC purchased a new position in PepsiCo in the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in PepsiCo in the 4th quarter worth about $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

PEP stock traded down $1.37 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $165.98. The company had a trading volume of 969,311 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,470,217. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $173.73 and a 200-day simple moving average of $170.37. The company has a market cap of $228.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 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 twelve month low of $155.83 and a twelve month high of $192.38.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.61 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $18.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.08 billion. PepsiCo had a net margin of 10.00% and a return on equity of 57.37%. PepsiCo’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.50 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.16 earnings per share for the current year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors 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 boost from PepsiCo’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.27. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.27%. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 81.50%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on PEP shares. Morgan Stanley raised shares of PepsiCo from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $190.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 18th. BNP Paribas began 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 raised their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $209.00 to $211.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 16th. Argus downgraded shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Barclays cut 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. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $186.38.

Insider Buying and Selling at PepsiCo

In other PepsiCo 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 transaction 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 approximately $9,603,634. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company 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.