Palisade Capital Management LP Reduces Holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Palisade Capital Management LP decreased its holdings in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP - Free Report) by 68.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,147 shares of the company's stock after selling 11,241 shares during the quarter. Palisade Capital Management LP's holdings in PepsiCo were worth $772,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in PepsiCo during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. acquired a new stake in PepsiCo during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new stake in PepsiCo during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Finally, GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. acquired a new position in PepsiCo in the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.07% of the company's stock.

PepsiCo Price Performance

Shares of PEP opened at $135.58 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $185.88 billion, a PE ratio of 19.94, a PEG ratio of 4.27 and a beta of 0.45. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $131.36 and its 200 day moving average price is $142.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.13, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.83. PepsiCo, Inc. has a twelve month low of $127.60 and a twelve month high of $180.91.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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). PepsiCo had a net margin of 10.24% and a return on equity of 58.28%. The firm had revenue of $17.92 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.81 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.61 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th were given a dividend of $1.4225 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 6th. This represents a $5.69 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.20%. This is a positive change from PepsiCo's previous quarterly dividend of $1.36. PepsiCo's payout ratio is 83.68%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $155.00 to $150.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Dbs Bank downgraded shares of PepsiCo from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of PepsiCo from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their target price for the company from $171.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $175.00 to $169.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $158.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $159.75.

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.

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