Founders Financial Alliance LLC Sells 74 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Founders Financial Alliance LLC lessened its holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 0.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,037 shares of the company’s stock after selling 74 shares during the period. Founders Financial Alliance LLC’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $1,365,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA lifted its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 80.5% in the fourth quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 157 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the period. Life Planning Partners Inc acquired a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Naples Money Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Avion Wealth lifted its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 61.7% in the fourth quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 241 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on PEP. Barclays boosted their price target on PepsiCo from $184.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $180.00 price target on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Argus downgraded PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $195.00 price objective on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, Citigroup upgraded PepsiCo from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $180.00 to $195.00 in a report on Monday, February 12th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $187.58.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Ramkumar Krishnan sold 5,620 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.00, for a total value of $1,000,360.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 53,953 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,603,634. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

PepsiCo Price Performance

Shares of PepsiCo stock traded down $1.28 during trading on Friday, hitting $177.99. 3,447,389 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,466,001. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96. The stock has a market cap of $244.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.87, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.52. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $174.31 and its 200-day moving average is $170.06. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 52 week low of $155.83 and a 52 week high of $192.38.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.09. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 57.37% and a net margin of 10.00%. The business had revenue of $18.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.08 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.50 EPS. PepsiCo’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be issued a $1.355 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 7th. This represents a $5.42 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.05%. This is a boost from PepsiCo’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.27. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 76.09%.

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.