Trust Co of the South Sells 2,199 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Trust Co of the South trimmed its holdings in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 33.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,296 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,199 shares during the quarter. Trust Co of the South’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $752,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its holdings in PepsiCo by 59.4% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 993,567 shares of the company’s stock valued at $168,747,000 after purchasing an additional 370,122 shares in the last quarter. Harbour Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Harbour Capital Advisors LLC now owns 27,446 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,747,000 after buying an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Meadow Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the fourth quarter worth $405,000. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC lifted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 34.5% in the fourth quarter. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC now owns 12,317 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,091,000 after buying an additional 3,159 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marion Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 31.7% in the fourth quarter. Marion Wealth Management now owns 7,888 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,340,000 after buying an additional 1,900 shares in the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at PepsiCo

In related news, CEO Ramkumar Krishnan sold 5,620 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.00, for a total value of $1,000,360.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 53,953 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,603,634. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.15% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on PEP shares. Morgan Stanley raised shares of PepsiCo from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $190.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, March 18th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $209.00 to $211.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 16th. Argus cut shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $178.00 to $181.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $195.00 price target on shares of PepsiCo in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $187.17.

PepsiCo Trading Up 0.4 %

NASDAQ PEP opened at $167.28 on Friday. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 12 month low of $155.83 and a 12 month high of $192.38. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $173.71 and its 200-day moving average price is $170.32. The stock has a market cap of $229.97 billion, a PE ratio of 25.15, a PEG ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.61 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $18.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.08 billion. PepsiCo had a net margin of 10.00% and a return on equity of 57.37%. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.50 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.16 earnings per share for the current year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be paid a dividend of $1.355 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 7th. This represents a $5.42 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.24%. This is a positive change from PepsiCo’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.27. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 81.50%.

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.