Chatham Capital Group Inc. Sells 3,438 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Chatham Capital Group Inc. trimmed its stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP - Free Report) by 15.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 18,336 shares of the company's stock after selling 3,438 shares during the period. Chatham Capital Group Inc.'s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $2,749,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in PepsiCo in the 4th quarter valued at $2,729,565,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised 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 valued at $688,017,000 after purchasing an additional 4,564,723 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in PepsiCo in the 4th quarter valued at $589,307,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in PepsiCo by 18.1% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 25,217,043 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,834,504,000 after purchasing an additional 3,856,193 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new stake in PepsiCo in the 4th quarter valued at $221,297,000. 73.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PepsiCo Price Performance

PepsiCo stock traded down $1.08 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $130.03. 7,619,600 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,606,871. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $136.15 and a two-hundred day moving average of $146.06. PepsiCo, Inc. has a twelve month low of $127.75 and a twelve month 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 company has a market cap of $178.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.45.

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

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be issued a dividend of $1.4225 per share. This represents a $5.69 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.38%. This is an increase from PepsiCo's previous quarterly dividend of $1.36. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. PepsiCo's payout ratio is currently 83.68%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $168.00 to $153.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $155.00 to $150.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Evercore ISI set a $140.00 target price on shares of PepsiCo in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $175.00 to $169.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $163.00 price target on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. One equities research 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, PepsiCo presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target 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.