West Coast Financial LLC Sells 2,728 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

West Coast Financial LLC cut its position in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP - Free Report) by 4.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 55,076 shares of the company's stock after selling 2,728 shares during the quarter. West Coast Financial LLC's holdings in PepsiCo were worth $8,258,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup dropped their price target on PepsiCo from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. Wall Street Zen downgraded PepsiCo from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Evercore ISI set a $140.00 target price on PepsiCo in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on PepsiCo from $168.00 to $153.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $163.00 price target on shares of PepsiCo in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, PepsiCo has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $160.69.

PepsiCo Stock Down 0.8%

NASDAQ PEP traded down $1.08 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $130.03. 7,619,600 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,594,477. The company has a 50 day moving average of $136.54 and a two-hundred day moving average of $146.43. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 12 month low of $127.75 and a 12 month high of $180.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $178.28 billion, a PE ratio of 18.71, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.47.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.48 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.49 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $17.92 billion during 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 business's quarterly revenue was down 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.61 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. This represents a $5.69 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.38%. This is a boost from PepsiCo's previous quarterly dividend of $1.36. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. PepsiCo's dividend payout ratio is presently 83.68%.

PepsiCo 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.