Moreno Evelyn V Sells 31,780 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Moreno Evelyn V trimmed its holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 67.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 15,194 shares of the company’s stock after selling 31,780 shares during the quarter. Moreno Evelyn V’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $2,581,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of PEP. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,686,139,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 9,623.6% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,058,061 shares of the company’s stock worth $519,381,000 after buying an additional 3,026,611 shares during the last quarter. J.P. Morgan Private Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the third quarter worth approximately $329,179,000. Flossbach Von Storch AG boosted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 121.4% in the fourth quarter. Flossbach Von Storch AG now owns 2,727,622 shares of the company’s stock worth $463,259,000 after buying an additional 1,495,586 shares during the last quarter. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 17.9% in the fourth quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 9,664,323 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,641,389,000 after buying an additional 1,470,064 shares during the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on PEP shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $181.00 to $184.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $209.00 to $211.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 16th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of PepsiCo from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $190.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, March 18th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $184.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Argus cut shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, PepsiCo currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $187.58.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Ramkumar Krishnan sold 5,620 shares of the 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 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 through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

PepsiCo Stock Down 1.2 %

NASDAQ:PEP traded down $2.13 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $179.96. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,179,634 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,458,809. The firm has a market capitalization of $247.41 billion, a PE ratio of 27.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.52. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $174.02 and a 200-day moving average of $170.00. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 1 year low of $155.83 and a 1 year high of $192.38. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.61 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $18.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.08 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.50 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.17 earnings per share for the current year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be issued a dividend of $1.355 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 7th. This represents a $5.42 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.01%. This is an increase from PepsiCo’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.27. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is 76.09%.

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.