ST Germain D J Co. Inc. Trims Position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

ST Germain D J Co. Inc. lessened its position in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP - Free Report) by 4.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 73,709 shares of the company's stock after selling 3,483 shares during the quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc.'s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $11,052,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Collier Financial purchased a new position in PepsiCo during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in PepsiCo in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC acquired a new stake in PepsiCo in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in PepsiCo in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. acquired a new stake in PepsiCo in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 73.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PEP has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded PepsiCo from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $171.00 to $170.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Barclays cut their price objective on PepsiCo from $143.00 to $135.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 28th. Bank of America cut their price objective on PepsiCo from $155.00 to $150.00 and set a "neutral" 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 on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Dbs Bank downgraded shares of PepsiCo from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $160.69.

PepsiCo Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of PEP stock traded down $0.11 on Wednesday, reaching $131.74. 6,514,304 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,561,606. PepsiCo, Inc. has a twelve month low of $127.75 and a twelve month high of $180.91. The company has a market capitalization of $180.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.96, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05. The business's 50 day moving average price is $137.27 and its 200 day moving average price is $146.72.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.01). PepsiCo had a net margin of 10.43% and a return on equity of 58.87%. The company had revenue of $17.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $17.81 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.61 earnings per share. PepsiCo's revenue was down 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th will be given a $1.4225 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 yield of 4.32%. PepsiCo's payout ratio is 83.68%.

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.