Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Trims Position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group Inc. significantly reduced its stake in PepsiCo by 85.3%, holding just 8,921 shares after selling 51,789 shares during the first quarter.
• Analyst ratings for PepsiCo have shifted, with JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Bank of America lowering their price targets, while Morgan Stanley increased its target from $153.00 to $165.00, contributing to an average rating of "Hold."
• PepsiCo declared a quarterly dividend of $1.4225 per share, marking a 4.1% annualized yield, despite a high dividend payout ratio of 103.64%.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. reduced its stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP - Free Report) by 85.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,921 shares of the company's stock after selling 51,789 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $1,338,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Elite Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in PepsiCo during the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. Bridge Generations Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Sunbeam Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the fourth quarter valued at about $47,000. 73.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PEP has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $150.00 to $139.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Dbs Bank downgraded shares of PepsiCo from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $132.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $153.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, PepsiCo currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $158.73.

PepsiCo Stock Down 0.1%

PepsiCo stock traded down $0.11 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $139.45. The stock had a trading volume of 5,533,502 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,759,724. The company has a market capitalization of $190.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.40, a PEG ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $134.83 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $140.77. PepsiCo, Inc. has a one year low of $127.60 and a one year high of $179.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.60.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The company reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $22.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $22.28 billion. PepsiCo had a net margin of 8.23% and a return on equity of 57.81%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.28 EPS. On average, analysts expect that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be given a dividend of $1.4225 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $5.69 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.1%. PepsiCo's dividend payout ratio is presently 103.64%.

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.