Signet Financial Management LLC Cuts Stock Position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Signet Financial Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP - Free Report) by 66.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,356 shares of the company's stock after selling 4,566 shares during the quarter. Signet Financial Management LLC's holdings in PepsiCo were worth $353,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Collier Financial bought a new stake in shares of PepsiCo during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in PepsiCo in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. bought a new position in PepsiCo during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.07% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on PEP shares. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $143.00 to $135.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 28th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on PepsiCo from $168.00 to $153.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $158.00 to $159.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $155.00 to $150.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $163.00 target price on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. One 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. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $160.69.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

NASDAQ PEP traded down $1.45 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $130.85. 9,578,363 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,664,721. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 1 year low of $127.75 and a 1 year high of $180.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.82. The business's 50 day moving average is $134.63 and its 200-day moving average is $145.20. The company has a market capitalization of $179.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.83, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.45.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.49 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $17.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.81 billion. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 58.87% and a net margin of 10.43%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.61 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be paid a $1.4225 dividend. This is an increase from PepsiCo's previous quarterly dividend of $1.36. This represents a $5.69 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. PepsiCo's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 83.68%.

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.