CENTRAL TRUST Co Trims Stock Holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. $PEP

CENTRAL TRUST Co trimmed its position in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 3.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 149,676 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,787 shares during the period. CENTRAL TRUST Co’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $23,243,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Gunpowder Capital Management LLC dba Oliver Wealth Management acquired a new position in PepsiCo in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Swiss RE Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of PepsiCo during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. MH & Associates Securities Management Corp ADV purchased a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Imprint Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Strategic Advocates LLC purchased a new stake in PepsiCo during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. 73.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

Shares of PEP stock opened at $142.05 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $194.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.30, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.35. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $149.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $152.16. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 12 month low of $127.60 and a 12 month high of $171.48.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The company reported $1.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.55 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $19.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.89 billion. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 56.61% and a net margin of 9.15%.PepsiCo’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.48 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th will be paid a dividend of $1.48 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. This is a positive change from PepsiCo’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. This represents a $5.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.2%. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 92.94%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on PEP. Barclays raised their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $154.00 to $158.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on PepsiCo from $172.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on PepsiCo from $160.00 to $150.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 5th. BNP Paribas Exane boosted their target price on PepsiCo from $191.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on PepsiCo from $180.00 to $183.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $167.10.

PepsiCo Profile

PepsiCo, Inc (NASDAQ: PEP) is a multinational food and beverage company headquartered in Purchase, New York. The company develops, manufactures, markets and sells a broad portfolio of branded food and beverage products, including carbonated and noncarbonated soft drinks, bottled water, sports drinks, juices, ready-to-drink teas and coffees, salty snacks, cereals, and other convenient foods. Its leading consumer brands include Pepsi, Mountain Dew, Gatorade, Tropicana, Quaker, Lay’s, Doritos and Cheetos, among others.

Formed through the 1965 merger of Pepsi-Cola and Frito-Lay, PepsiCo has grown into a global business with integrated manufacturing, distribution and marketing operations.