Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC Sells 2,193 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP - Free Report) by 4.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 46,114 shares of the company's stock after selling 2,193 shares during the period. PepsiCo accounts for 1.1% of Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC's holdings in PepsiCo were worth $6,905,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in PepsiCo in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Elite Financial Inc. acquired a new position in PepsiCo in the first quarter valued at $28,000. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in PepsiCo in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. acquired a new position in PepsiCo in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new position in PepsiCo in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.07% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PEP has been the topic of several research reports. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $150.00 to $139.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $143.00 to $135.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and set a $148.00 price objective on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, Dbs Bank lowered shares of PepsiCo from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, PepsiCo presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $158.19.

PepsiCo Trading Down 0.6%

PepsiCo stock traded down $0.82 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $135.26. The stock had a trading volume of 7,958,581 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,078,854. The stock has a market cap of $185.45 billion, a PE ratio of 19.89, a PEG ratio of 4.23 and a beta of 0.45. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 52 week low of $127.60 and a 52 week high of $180.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.13, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $131.49 and a 200-day simple moving average of $141.50.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $17.92 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.81 billion. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 58.28% and a net margin of 10.24%. PepsiCo's revenue was down 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.61 EPS. Analysts forecast 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 was paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th were issued a $1.4225 dividend. This represents a $5.69 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 6th. This is a positive change from PepsiCo's previous quarterly dividend of $1.36. PepsiCo's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.