PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) Stock Holdings Lessened by Northeast Financial Group Inc.

Northeast Financial Group Inc. reduced its stake in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 5.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,272 shares of the company’s stock after selling 75 shares during the period. Northeast Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $223,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA increased its holdings in PepsiCo by 80.5% in the fourth quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 157 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC increased its position in PepsiCo by 100.0% during the fourth 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 last quarter. Life Planning Partners Inc bought a new position in PepsiCo during the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Naples Money Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of PepsiCo during the 4th quarter worth about $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PEP has been the subject of several analyst reports. Barclays reduced their target price on PepsiCo from $185.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. Argus lowered shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Morgan Stanley raised 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. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $209.00 to $211.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $181.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average 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 PepsiCo 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 filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

PepsiCo Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PEP opened at $166.74 on Thursday. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 1-year low of $155.83 and a 1-year high of $192.38. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $173.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $170.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96. The firm has a market cap of $229.23 billion, a PE ratio of 25.07, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.52.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.61 earnings per share 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 return on equity of 57.37% and a net margin of 10.00%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.50 EPS. Research analysts predict that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th will be given a dividend of $1.355 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 7th. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.25%. This is an increase from PepsiCo’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.27. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is currently 81.50%.

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.