Private Ocean LLC Sells 364 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Private Ocean LLC cut its holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 14.9% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 2,076 shares of the company’s stock after selling 364 shares during the period. Private Ocean LLC’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $363,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA increased its position in shares of PepsiCo by 80.5% in 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 period. Fortis Group Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of PepsiCo by 100.0% in the fourth quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC now owns 194 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the period. Life Planning Partners Inc purchased a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Naples Money Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. 73.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 completion of 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 is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $195.00 price objective on shares of PepsiCo in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of PepsiCo in a research report on Monday, June 24th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $174.00 price target on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target 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 cut shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target 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 analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, PepsiCo presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $186.38.

PepsiCo Price Performance

PEP opened at $164.93 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $226.74 billion, a PE ratio of 24.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.52. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $173.37 and a 200-day moving average price of $170.31. 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 issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.61 earnings per share (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 analysts’ expectations of $18.08 billion. PepsiCo had a net margin of 10.00% and a return on equity of 57.37%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.50 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 7th were issued a $1.355 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 7th. This is a boost from PepsiCo’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.27. This represents a $5.42 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.29%. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is 81.50%.

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.