Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 24,398 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its stake in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP - Free Report) by 1.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,737,063 shares of the company's stock after selling 24,398 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.13% of PepsiCo worth $260,455,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of PEP. Norges Bank purchased a new position in PepsiCo in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,729,565,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 19,106.5% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,588,614 shares of the company's stock worth $688,017,000 after purchasing an additional 4,564,723 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the fourth quarter valued at $589,307,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in shares of PepsiCo by 106.1% during the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 3,514,965 shares of the company's stock valued at $527,034,000 after buying an additional 1,809,391 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new stake in PepsiCo in the 4th quarter worth about $221,297,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.07% of the company's stock.

PepsiCo Stock Down 0.7%

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

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP - Get Free Report) last posted 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). 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 10.24% and a return on equity of 58.28%. PepsiCo's revenue was down 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.61 earnings per share. Sell-side 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. This is a positive change from PepsiCo's previous quarterly dividend of $1.36. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 6th. This represents a $5.69 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.20%. PepsiCo's dividend payout ratio is currently 83.68%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PEP has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. Dbs Bank downgraded shares of PepsiCo from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on PepsiCo from $168.00 to $153.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. UBS Group cut their price objective on PepsiCo from $175.00 to $169.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and issued a $148.00 target price on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. One research 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus 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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