AXS Investments LLC Sells 267 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

AXS Investments LLC reduced its holdings in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 11.1% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 2,135 shares of the company’s stock after selling 267 shares during the period. AXS Investments LLC’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $363,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA boosted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 80.5% in the 4th quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 157 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Life Planning Partners Inc bought a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Naples Money Management LLC acquired a new position in PepsiCo in the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Avion Wealth boosted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 61.7% in the fourth quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 241 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 92 shares during the period. 73.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Ramkumar Krishnan sold 5,620 shares of PepsiCo 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 53,953 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,603,634. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

PepsiCo Price Performance

Shares of PEP stock traded down $1.28 on Friday, reaching $177.99. The company had a trading volume of 3,447,399 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,948,433. PepsiCo, Inc. has a one year low of $155.83 and a one year high of $192.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $244.70 billion, a PE ratio of 26.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.52. 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 business’s 50-day moving average is $174.57 and its 200 day moving average is $170.14.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $18.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.08 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.50 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be given a $1.355 dividend. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 7th. This is a positive change from PepsiCo’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.27. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is 76.09%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on PEP shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $181.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. StockNews.com cut PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of PepsiCo from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $190.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, March 18th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $195.00 price objective on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on PepsiCo from $178.00 to $181.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $187.58.

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.