Praxis Investment Management Inc. Trims Stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Praxis Investment Management Inc. cut its stake in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP - Free Report) by 9.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 50,839 shares of the company's stock after selling 5,250 shares during the period. PepsiCo comprises about 0.5% of Praxis Investment Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest position. Praxis Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $7,623,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of PEP. Marietta Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 19.5% in the first quarter. Marietta Wealth Management LLC now owns 57,275 shares of the company's stock worth $8,588,000 after acquiring an additional 9,335 shares during the period. GAM Holding AG raised its stake in PepsiCo by 62.3% during the 1st quarter. GAM Holding AG now owns 11,413 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,711,000 after purchasing an additional 4,383 shares during the period. Stonegate Investment Group LLC lifted its holdings in PepsiCo by 5.1% in the 1st quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC now owns 27,106 shares of the company's stock worth $4,064,000 after purchasing an additional 1,321 shares in the last quarter. PFG Investments LLC grew its holdings in PepsiCo by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 58,759 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,810,000 after buying an additional 2,272 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advocate Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of PepsiCo during the first quarter valued at approximately $224,000. Institutional investors own 73.07% of the company's stock.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PEP opened at $129.07 on Friday. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 52 week low of $127.75 and a 52 week high of $180.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $176.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.98, a PEG ratio of 3.71 and a beta of 0.45. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $133.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $144.06. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.13.

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 return on equity of 58.28% and a net margin of 10.24%. The firm had revenue of $17.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $17.81 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.61 earnings per share. PepsiCo's revenue for the quarter was down 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th will be paid a dividend of $1.4225 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. This is a boost from PepsiCo's previous quarterly dividend of $1.36. This represents a $5.69 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.41%. PepsiCo's payout ratio is currently 83.68%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $163.00 target price on shares of PepsiCo in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Barclays dropped 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. Citigroup cut their price objective on PepsiCo from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Dbs Bank downgraded PepsiCo from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut PepsiCo from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their price target for the company from $171.00 to $170.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price 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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