HCR Wealth Advisors Decreases Position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

HCR Wealth Advisors decreased its position in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 15.9% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,203 shares of the company’s stock after selling 415 shares during the period. HCR Wealth Advisors’ holdings in PepsiCo were worth $330,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in PEP. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PepsiCo during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in PepsiCo in the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. bought a new stake in PepsiCo in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new stake in PepsiCo during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. bought a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

PepsiCo Stock Down 0.2%

PEP opened at $129.07 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $176.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.71 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.13, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.83. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $133.80 and its 200 day moving average is $144.52. PepsiCo, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $127.75 and a fifty-two week high of $180.91.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.48 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.49 by ($0.01). PepsiCo had a net margin of 10.24% and a return on equity of 58.28%. The business had revenue of $17.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.81 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.61 earnings per share. PepsiCo’s revenue was down 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be issued a dividend of $1.4225 per share. This is a positive change from PepsiCo’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.36. This represents a $5.69 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 83.68%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PEP has been the subject of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on PepsiCo from $158.00 to $159.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $168.00 to $153.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $155.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 25th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $175.00 to $169.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Dbs Bank downgraded shares of PepsiCo from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, PepsiCo currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $160.69.

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.