LS Investment Advisors LLC Cuts Stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

LS Investment Advisors LLC cut its position in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP - Free Report) by 71.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,145 shares of the company's stock after selling 39,813 shares during the quarter. LS Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in PepsiCo were worth $2,421,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Collier Financial bought a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in PepsiCo during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC bought a new position in PepsiCo during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in PepsiCo in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of PepsiCo during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 73.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PepsiCo Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of NASDAQ PEP traded down $1.08 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $130.03. 7,619,600 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,590,251. The company has a market cap of $178.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.71, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.47. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $136.54 and a 200-day moving average price of $146.43. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 52 week low of $127.75 and a 52 week high of $180.91. 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 announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.48 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $17.92 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.81 billion. PepsiCo had a net margin of 10.43% and a return on equity of 58.87%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.61 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 EPS for the current year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $1.4225 per share. This represents a $5.69 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.38%. This is a positive change from PepsiCo's previous quarterly dividend of $1.36. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. PepsiCo's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 83.68%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on PEP shares. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of PepsiCo from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. UBS Group lowered their price objective 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. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of PepsiCo from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $171.00 to $170.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. CICC Research restated a "market perform" rating on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price objective on PepsiCo from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $160.69.

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.