Benjamin Edwards Inc. Sells 11,829 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Key Points

• Benjamin Edwards Inc. has reduced its stake in PepsiCo, Inc. by 10.3% in the first quarter, holding 103,008 shares worth approximately $15.45 million after selling 11,829 shares.
• Several institutional investors, including GAMMA Investing LLC and Assenagon Asset Management S.A., have significantly increased their holdings in PepsiCo during the same period.
• Analysts have set a consensus price target for PepsiCo at $158.73, with the stock's current price at $145.21 and recent earnings showing a year-over-year revenue increase of 1%.

Benjamin Edwards Inc. cut its stake in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP - Free Report) by 10.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 103,008 shares of the company's stock after selling 11,829 shares during the quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc.'s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $15,445,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in PepsiCo by 19,106.5% in the 1st 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 during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 106.1% during the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 3,514,965 shares of the company's stock worth $527,034,000 after acquiring an additional 1,809,391 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 135,174,252 shares of the company's stock worth $20,268,027,000 after acquiring an additional 1,802,748 shares during the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the 4th quarter valued at $221,297,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its position in PepsiCo by 8.7% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 16,403,395 shares of the company's stock worth $2,494,300,000 after purchasing an additional 1,306,818 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.07% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on PEP. Barclays upped their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $132.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 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. Cowen reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on PepsiCo from $153.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $158.73.

PepsiCo Trading Down 0.2%

NASDAQ PEP traded down $0.34 during trading on Monday, hitting $144.87. The company had a trading volume of 5,772,177 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,407,565. The company's fifty day moving average is $135.98 and its 200-day moving average is $140.57. PepsiCo, Inc. has a one year low of $127.60 and a one year high of $179.73. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12. The company has a market cap of $198.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 0.45.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The company reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.09. PepsiCo had a net margin of 8.23% and a return on equity of 57.81%. The company had revenue of $22.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.28 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.28 earnings per share. PepsiCo's revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th will be given a dividend of $1.4225 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $5.69 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.9%. PepsiCo's payout ratio is currently 103.64%.

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.