American Trust Trims Stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

American Trust lowered its stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 11.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 33,193 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,270 shares during the quarter. American Trust’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $5,475,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Edge Capital Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Edge Capital Group LLC now owns 9,839 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,671,000 after purchasing an additional 373 shares during the last quarter. Fairview Capital Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Fairview Capital Investment Management LLC now owns 3,387 shares of the company’s stock valued at $575,000 after buying an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its position in PepsiCo by 106.7% in the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 216,291 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,735,000 after acquiring an additional 111,675 shares during the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. increased its stake in PepsiCo by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 93,556 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,890,000 after buying an additional 2,141 shares during the period. Finally, Morningstar Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of PepsiCo by 182.0% during the fourth quarter. Morningstar Investment Management LLC now owns 8,952 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,520,000 after acquiring an additional 5,778 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. DZ Bank cut PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $183.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on PepsiCo from $180.00 to $177.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 12th. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Monday, June 24th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $174.00 target price on the stock. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $190.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $200.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $185.40.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

Shares of PEP opened at $171.38 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87. The firm has a market cap of $235.61 billion, a PE ratio of 24.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.53. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 12 month low of $155.83 and a 12 month high of $183.41. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $173.92 and a 200-day moving average price of $172.17.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 11th. The company reported $2.28 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.12. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 57.37% and a net margin of 10.34%. The company had revenue of $22.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.59 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.09 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 6th were paid a dividend of $1.355 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 6th. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.16%. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is 78.66%.

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.