PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) Shares Sold by Kellett Wealth Advisors LLC

Kellett Wealth Advisors LLC cut its position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 16.0% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,936 shares of the company’s stock after selling 369 shares during the quarter. Kellett Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $329,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA boosted its stake in PepsiCo by 80.5% during the 4th 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. Life Planning Partners Inc bought a new position in PepsiCo during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Avion Wealth boosted its stake in PepsiCo by 61.7% during the 4th quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 241 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new position in PepsiCo during the 4th quarter valued at $44,000. Finally, Pacific Center for Financial Services bought a new position in PepsiCo during the 1st quarter valued at $47,000. 73.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

Shares of PEP stock traded up $2.79 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $172.27. The stock had a trading volume of 5,573,781 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,722,261. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.68. PepsiCo, Inc. has a twelve month low of $155.83 and a twelve month high of $196.88. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $168.58 and a 200-day simple moving average of $167.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $236.79 billion, a PE ratio of 26.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.53.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last released its earnings results on Friday, February 9th. The company reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.72 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $27.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $28.40 billion. PepsiCo had a net margin of 9.92% and a return on equity of 58.03%. PepsiCo’s quarterly revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.67 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.15 earnings per share for the current year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st were paid a dividend of $1.265 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $5.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.94%. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is 77.02%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on PEP shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $181.00 to $184.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Morgan Stanley upgraded 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 report on Monday, March 18th. Argus downgraded shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $199.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, PepsiCo presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $186.92.

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.