Handelsbanken Fonder AB Sells 14,293 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB lessened its position in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP - Free Report) by 2.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 557,360 shares of the company's stock after selling 14,293 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB's holdings in PepsiCo were worth $83,571,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Tcfg Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in PepsiCo by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Tcfg Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,938 shares of the company's stock valued at $295,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the period. TAGStone Capital Inc. boosted its position in PepsiCo by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. TAGStone Capital Inc. now owns 2,527 shares of the company's stock valued at $388,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. Lokken Investment Group LLC grew its stake in PepsiCo by 0.9% during the 4th 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. Leavell Investment Management Inc. increased its position in PepsiCo by 0.3% in 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 period. Finally, Legacy Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 4.9% during the first quarter. Legacy Financial Group LLC now owns 1,514 shares of the company's stock valued at $227,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.07% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and issued a $163.00 target price on shares of PepsiCo in a research report 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 research note on Friday, April 25th. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of PepsiCo from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $171.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on PepsiCo from $168.00 to $153.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price target on PepsiCo from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, PepsiCo currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $160.69.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

Shares of PEP traded down $1.68 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $130.16. 3,590,791 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,612,611. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 1-year low of $127.75 and a 1-year high of $180.91. The stock has a market cap of $178.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.45. The stock's fifty day moving average is $135.37 and its 200 day moving average is $145.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.82.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.48 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 business posted $1.61 earnings per share. PepsiCo's revenue was down 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. This is a positive change 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.37%. PepsiCo's dividend payout ratio is presently 83.68%.

PepsiCo Company 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.