PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) Shares Sold by Griffin Asset Management Inc.

Griffin Asset Management Inc. cut its holdings in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP - Free Report) by 52.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,621 shares of the company's stock after selling 9,456 shares during the quarter. Griffin Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $1,293,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in PepsiCo in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC purchased a new position in PepsiCo in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in PepsiCo in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. purchased a new position in PepsiCo in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new position in PepsiCo in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. 73.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. 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. UBS Group lowered their price target on PepsiCo from $175.00 to $169.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $158.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of PepsiCo from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $171.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective 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. One 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 company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $160.69.

PepsiCo Price Performance

PepsiCo stock traded down $1.45 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $130.85. The company had a trading volume of 9,578,363 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,664,721. The company has a market capitalization of $179.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.83, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.45. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 12-month low of $127.75 and a 12-month high of $180.91. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $134.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $145.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.65.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $17.92 billion during 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 quarterly revenue was down 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.61 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 EPS for the current year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The firm 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 $1.4225 dividend. 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 4.35%. PepsiCo's dividend payout ratio is presently 83.68%.

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.