PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) Shares Sold by Northstar Advisory Group LLC

Northstar Advisory Group LLC reduced its holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 20.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,269 shares of the company’s stock after selling 817 shares during the quarter. Northstar Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $555,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. bought a new position in PepsiCo during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Pacifica Partners Inc. bought a new position in PepsiCo during the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. West Tower Group LLC bought a new position in PepsiCo during the 2nd quarter valued at $36,000. VitalStone Financial LLC bought a new position in PepsiCo during the 2nd quarter valued at $46,000. Finally, Pacific Center for Financial Services bought a new position in PepsiCo during the 1st quarter valued at $47,000. 73.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PEP has been the subject of several research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on PepsiCo from $181.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Barclays increased their price objective on PepsiCo from $179.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley upgraded PepsiCo from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $190.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, March 18th. StockNews.com downgraded PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $195.00 price target on shares of PepsiCo in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $187.77.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

PEP traded up $0.91 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $173.64. The stock had a trading volume of 1,619,710 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,888,738. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.68. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $167.83 and a 200-day moving average price of $167.98. PepsiCo, Inc. has a one year low of $155.83 and a one year high of $196.88. The firm has a market cap of $238.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.53.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last released its earnings results on Friday, February 9th. The company reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.72 by $0.06. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 58.03% and a net margin of 9.92%. The firm had revenue of $27.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $28.40 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.67 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.15 EPS for the current year.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st will be paid a $1.265 dividend. This represents a $5.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.91%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 29th. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.02%.

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.