Centaurus Financial Inc. Reduces Stock Holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Centaurus Financial Inc. lowered its holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP - Free Report) by 53.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,776 shares of the company's stock after selling 5,395 shares during the quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc.'s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $726,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Tallon Kerry Patrick purchased a new stake in PepsiCo during the fourth quarter valued at $224,000. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in PepsiCo by 12.4% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 59,392 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,031,000 after acquiring an additional 6,574 shares during the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new stake in PepsiCo during the fourth quarter valued at $9,268,000. Strategic Blueprint LLC increased its position in PepsiCo by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC now owns 15,436 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,347,000 after acquiring an additional 391 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ibex Wealth Advisors purchased a new stake in PepsiCo during the fourth quarter valued at $217,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.07% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PEP has been the subject of several recent research reports. Barclays cut their price target on PepsiCo from $143.00 to $135.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 28th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and issued a $163.00 price objective on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on PepsiCo from $158.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. CICC Research reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered PepsiCo from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $160.69.

PepsiCo Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of PEP stock traded down $0.54 on Monday, reaching $130.91. 6,722,029 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,552,547. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 52 week low of $127.75 and a 52 week high of $180.91. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $179.49 billion, a PE ratio of 18.84, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.47. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $137.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $146.83.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $17.92 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 firm earned $1.61 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 EPS for the current year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be issued a $1.4225 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. This is an increase from PepsiCo's previous quarterly dividend of $1.36. This represents a $5.69 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.35%. PepsiCo's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 83.68%.

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.