PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) Holdings Trimmed by Essex Savings Bank

Essex Savings Bank lowered its holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP - Free Report) by 10.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,078 shares of the company's stock after selling 2,078 shares during the period. PepsiCo makes up 0.7% of Essex Savings Bank's portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest position. Essex Savings Bank's holdings in PepsiCo were worth $2,711,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of PEP. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of PepsiCo during the 4th quarter valued at $2,729,565,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 19,106.5% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,588,614 shares of the company's stock worth $688,017,000 after acquiring an additional 4,564,723 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in PepsiCo during the fourth quarter valued at $589,307,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in PepsiCo by 18.1% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 25,217,043 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,834,504,000 after purchasing an additional 3,856,193 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in PepsiCo by 106.1% in the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 3,514,965 shares of the company's stock worth $527,034,000 after purchasing an additional 1,809,391 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.07% of the company's stock.

PepsiCo Trading Down 1.6%

PepsiCo stock opened at $129.29 on Wednesday. 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 2.13, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $177.27 billion, a PE ratio of 19.01, a PEG ratio of 3.77 and a beta of 0.45. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $134.13 and its 200-day simple moving average is $144.63.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.48 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.49 by ($0.01). PepsiCo had a return on equity of 58.28% and a net margin of 10.24%. The business 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 firm earned $1.61 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was down 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be issued a $1.4225 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. This is an increase from PepsiCo's previous quarterly dividend of $1.36. This represents a $5.69 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.40%. PepsiCo's dividend payout ratio is 83.68%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on PEP shares. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on PepsiCo from $168.00 to $153.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $170.00 to $160.00 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 price target for the stock from $171.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $155.00 to $150.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $143.00 to $135.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 28th. One equities 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. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $160.69.

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.

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