American Trust Cuts Position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

American Trust lowered its holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 12.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 29,191 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,002 shares during the period. American Trust’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $4,964,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 21.1% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 13,021,316 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,293,049,000 after buying an additional 2,264,445 shares during the period. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 1.1% during the third quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 422,080 shares of the company’s stock valued at $71,774,000 after purchasing an additional 4,768 shares during the period. Synovus Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of PepsiCo by 5.5% during the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 125,965 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,421,000 after purchasing an additional 6,560 shares in the last quarter. Destination Wealth Management grew its holdings in PepsiCo by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Destination Wealth Management now owns 38,551 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,556,000 after purchasing an additional 711 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its stake in PepsiCo by 10.2% during the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 216,111 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,750,000 after buying an additional 20,029 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on PEP shares. Morgan Stanley downgraded PepsiCo from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $185.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded PepsiCo to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Barclays cut their target price on PepsiCo from $186.00 to $183.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $177.00 to $176.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $190.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, PepsiCo presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $184.31.

PepsiCo Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:PEP opened at $158.90 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $165.94 and its 200 day moving average price is $169.13. The company has a market cap of $218.01 billion, a PE ratio of 23.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.52. PepsiCo, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $155.85 and a fifty-two week high of $183.41.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 8th. The company reported $2.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.01. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 57.32% and a net margin of 10.18%. The company had revenue of $23.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $23.86 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.25 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.15 earnings per share for the current year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be issued a dividend of $1.355 per share. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 79.94%.

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.