West Coast Financial LLC Lowers Stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

West Coast Financial LLC reduced its stake in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 4.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm 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 quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Annex Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 4.5% in the first quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC now owns 5,565 shares of the company’s stock valued at $834,000 after acquiring an additional 241 shares in the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. raised its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 19.6% in the first quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 21,164 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,173,000 after acquiring an additional 3,475 shares in the last quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. raised its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 25.0% in the first quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. now owns 3,114 shares of the company’s stock valued at $467,000 after acquiring an additional 622 shares in the last quarter. Diligent Investors LLC raised its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 2.5% in the first quarter. Diligent Investors LLC now owns 7,649 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,147,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Naples Global Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 3.0% in the first quarter. Naples Global Advisors LLC now owns 25,678 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,850,000 after acquiring an additional 747 shares in the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup decreased their price objective on PepsiCo from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $143.00 to $135.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $158.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $168.00 to $153.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, CICC Research reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Friday, February 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $160.69.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

PEP opened at $131.11 on Friday. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 52-week low of $127.75 and a 52-week high of $180.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05. The company has a market cap of $179.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.47. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $136.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $146.43.

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

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $5.69 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.34%. This is a positive change from PepsiCo’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.36. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is currently 83.68%.

PepsiCo Company 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.