Appleton Partners Inc. MA Reduces Holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Appleton Partners Inc. MA decreased its position in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 2.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 51,059 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,347 shares during the period. Appleton Partners Inc. MA’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $7,656,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Tallon Kerry Patrick acquired a new position in PepsiCo during the 4th quarter worth $224,000. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in PepsiCo by 12.4% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 59,392 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,031,000 after acquiring an additional 6,574 shares in the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the 4th quarter valued at about $9,268,000. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG boosted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 470,387 shares of the company’s stock valued at $71,527,000 after buying an additional 11,538 shares during the period. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the 4th quarter valued at about $162,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PEP opened at $129.07 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.13. The company has a 50 day moving average of $133.19 and a 200-day moving average of $144.06. PepsiCo, Inc. has a twelve month low of $127.75 and a twelve month high of $180.91. The firm has a market cap of $176.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.98, a P/E/G ratio of 3.71 and a beta of 0.45.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.48 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.49 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $17.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.81 billion. PepsiCo had a net margin of 10.24% and a return on equity of 58.28%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.61 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. This represents a $5.69 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. This is an increase from PepsiCo’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.36. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is 83.68%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on PEP shares. Dbs Bank lowered shares of PepsiCo from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Evercore ISI set a $140.00 price target on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $175.00 to $169.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, 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 research note on Monday, April 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, PepsiCo has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $160.69.

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.