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

American Trust raised its position in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 6.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 31,117 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,926 shares during the period. American Trust’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $4,732,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in PepsiCo during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Collier Financial acquired a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. acquired a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PEP has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Barclays reduced their price objective on PepsiCo from $143.00 to $135.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 28th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on PepsiCo from $175.00 to $169.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 25th. HSBC reduced their price objective on PepsiCo from $186.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on PepsiCo from $155.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target on PepsiCo from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, PepsiCo presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $160.69.

PepsiCo Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of NASDAQ PEP opened at $129.34 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $139.53 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $148.31. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 52-week low of $127.75 and a 52-week high of $180.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $177.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.61, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.49 by ($0.01). PepsiCo had a net margin of 10.43% and a return on equity of 58.87%. The firm had revenue of $17.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.81 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.61 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be issued a dividend of $1.4225 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. This is a positive change from PepsiCo’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.36. This represents a $5.69 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.40%. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is 83.68%.

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.