Armstrong Fleming & Moore Inc Sells 3,078 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Armstrong Fleming & Moore Inc decreased its holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP - Free Report) by 59.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,103 shares of the company's stock after selling 3,078 shares during the period. Armstrong Fleming & Moore Inc's holdings in PepsiCo were worth $315,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of PEP. Norges Bank bought a new position in PepsiCo in the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,729,565,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in PepsiCo by 19,106.5% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,588,614 shares of the company's stock worth $688,017,000 after buying an additional 4,564,723 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in PepsiCo in the fourth quarter worth approximately $589,307,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in PepsiCo by 18.1% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 25,217,043 shares of the company's stock worth $3,834,504,000 after buying an additional 3,856,193 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new position in PepsiCo in the fourth quarter worth approximately $221,297,000. Institutional investors own 73.07% of the company's stock.

PepsiCo Price Performance

NASDAQ PEP opened at $131.11 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $136.54 and its 200 day moving average price is $146.43. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 1 year low of $127.75 and a 1 year high of $180.91. The company has a market cap of $179.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.86, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.47.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 10.43% and a return on equity of 58.87%. The business had revenue of $17.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $17.81 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.61 earnings per share. PepsiCo's revenue for the quarter was down 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be issued a $1.4225 dividend. This represents a $5.69 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.34%. This is a positive change from PepsiCo's previous quarterly dividend of $1.36. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. PepsiCo's dividend payout ratio is presently 83.68%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on PEP. CICC Research reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of PepsiCo in a research report on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on PepsiCo from $158.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. UBS Group reduced their price target on PepsiCo from $175.00 to $169.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Barclays reduced their price target on PepsiCo from $143.00 to $135.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Dbs Bank downgraded PepsiCo from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently 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.

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