Centaurus Financial Inc. Cuts Stock Position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Centaurus Financial Inc. decreased its stake in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP - Free Report) by 53.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,776 shares of the company's stock after selling 5,395 shares during the period. Centaurus Financial Inc.'s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $726,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PEP. Collier Financial bought a new position in PepsiCo in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new position in PepsiCo in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Institutional investors own 73.07% of the company's stock.

PepsiCo Trading Down 0.2%

PEP traded down $0.30 on Friday, reaching $131.62. 12,988,871 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,558,307. PepsiCo, Inc. has a one year low of $127.75 and a one year high of $180.91. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $137.98 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $147.27. The company has a market cap of $180.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.48 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $17.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $17.81 billion. PepsiCo had a net margin of 10.43% and a return on equity of 58.87%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.61 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be given a dividend of $1.4225 per share. This is an increase from PepsiCo's previous quarterly dividend of $1.36. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $5.69 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.32%. PepsiCo's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 83.68%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on PEP. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and issued a $163.00 price objective on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. BNP Paribas cut their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $162.00 to $160.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of PepsiCo from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $171.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of PepsiCo from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, PepsiCo has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $160.69.

About PepsiCo

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.