PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) Shares Sold by First Foundation Advisors

Key Points

• First Foundation Advisors has reduced its stake in PepsiCo by 17.6%, owning 8,924 shares valued at approximately $1.34 million after selling 1,908 shares during the first quarter.
• Other institutional investors, such as GAMMA Investing LLC, significantly increased their holdings, with GAMMA raising its position by 19,106.5% during the same period.
• PepsiCo has recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.4225 per share, which represents a yield of 3.95% and reflects a high dividend payout ratio of 103.64%.

First Foundation Advisors lessened its stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP - Free Report) by 17.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,924 shares of the company's stock after selling 1,908 shares during the quarter. First Foundation Advisors' holdings in PepsiCo were worth $1,338,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Elite Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the first quarter worth $28,000. Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. acquired a new stake in PepsiCo during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. purchased a new position in PepsiCo in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Bridge Generations Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Sunbeam Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the 4th quarter valued at $47,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.07% of the company's stock.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PEP traded down $1.03 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $142.86. The stock had a trading volume of 9,730,855 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,992,737. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.78. The stock has a market cap of $195.59 billion, a PE ratio of 26.02, a P/E/G ratio of 3.83 and a beta of 0.45. PepsiCo, Inc. has a one year low of $127.60 and a one year high of $180.91. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $134.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $140.98.

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

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be issued a dividend of $1.4225 per share. This represents a $5.69 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.98%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. PepsiCo's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 103.64%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on PEP. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on PepsiCo from $150.00 to $139.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on PepsiCo from $153.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $140.00 to $154.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $175.00 to $169.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 25th. 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 company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, PepsiCo has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $158.73.

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.