Cullen Investment Group LTD. Sells 3,710 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Cullen Investment Group LTD. decreased its position in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP - Free Report) by 10.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 32,236 shares of the company's stock after selling 3,710 shares during the period. Cullen Investment Group LTD.'s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $4,833,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in PEP. Tcfg Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Tcfg Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,938 shares of the company's stock worth $295,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. Osprey Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Osprey Private Wealth LLC now owns 15,060 shares of the company's stock worth $2,290,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. TAGStone Capital Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. TAGStone Capital Inc. now owns 2,527 shares of the company's stock worth $388,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. Lokken Investment Group LLC raised its stake in PepsiCo by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Lokken Investment Group LLC now owns 7,699 shares of the company's stock worth $1,171,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Leavell Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in PepsiCo by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 27,844 shares of the company's stock worth $4,271,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.07% of the company's stock.

PepsiCo Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:PEP traded up $1.25 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $131.92. 6,655,903 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,521,917. 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 has a 50 day moving average price of $138.26 and a 200-day moving average price of $147.49. The company has a market cap of $180.87 billion, a PE ratio of 18.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.47. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 12 month low of $127.75 and a 12 month high of $180.91.

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 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 business had revenue of $17.92 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.81 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.61 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th will be issued a dividend of $1.4225 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. This is a boost from PepsiCo's previous quarterly dividend of $1.36. This represents a $5.69 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.31%. PepsiCo's payout ratio is 83.68%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on PEP shares. Dbs Bank downgraded shares of PepsiCo from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $143.00 to $135.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 28th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $175.00 to $169.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, HSBC lowered their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $186.00 to $170.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average 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.