Diversified Trust Co Acquires 17,499 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Diversified Trust Co raised its stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 31.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 73,686 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 17,499 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $12,896,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of PEP. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. raised its stake in PepsiCo by 22.7% in the 3rd quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 4,044 shares of the company’s stock worth $685,000 after purchasing an additional 748 shares in the last quarter. Becker Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 0.6% in the third quarter. Becker Capital Management Inc. now owns 11,337 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,921,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the period. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC grew its position in PepsiCo by 78.9% during the third quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 56,081 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,502,000 after buying an additional 24,726 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in PepsiCo by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,876,920 shares of the company’s stock worth $995,728,000 after acquiring an additional 121,742 shares during the period. Finally, Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. raised its holdings in PepsiCo by 8.7% in the 3rd quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 1,258,829 shares of the company’s stock valued at $213,296,000 after acquiring an additional 100,650 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

PepsiCo Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ PEP opened at $162.89 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $173.37 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $170.30. The stock has a market cap of $223.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.52. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 52-week low of $155.83 and a 52-week high of $192.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 0.86.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last announced its 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. The business had revenue of $18.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.08 billion. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 57.37% and a net margin of 10.00%. PepsiCo’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.50 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.16 EPS for the current year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th were paid a dividend of $1.355 per share. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 7th. This is an increase from PepsiCo’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.27. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 81.50%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $195.00 price target on shares of PepsiCo in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Argus cut shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $209.00 to $211.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 16th. Barclays cut their target price on PepsiCo from $185.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th. Finally, BNP Paribas assumed coverage on PepsiCo in a report on Monday, June 24th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $174.00 price target for the company. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $186.38.

Insider Activity at PepsiCo

In other news, CEO Ramkumar Krishnan sold 5,620 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $9,603,634. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.14% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.