Appleton Partners Inc. MA Sells 3,981 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Appleton Partners Inc. MA decreased its stake in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 6.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 58,573 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,981 shares during the period. Appleton Partners Inc. MA’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $10,251,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA increased its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 80.5% in the fourth quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 157 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. Fortis Group Advisors LLC grew its position in PepsiCo by 100.0% during the fourth quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC now owns 194 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Life Planning Partners Inc bought a new position in PepsiCo in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Naples Money Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of PepsiCo during the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at PepsiCo

In other news, CEO Ramkumar Krishnan sold 5,620 shares of PepsiCo stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.00, for a total value of $1,000,360.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 53,953 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,603,634. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

PepsiCo Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ PEP traded down $0.28 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $165.86. The company had a trading volume of 806,886 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,461,647. The stock has a market cap of $228.02 billion, a PE ratio of 24.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.52. PepsiCo, Inc. has a one year low of $155.83 and a one year high of $192.38. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $173.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $170.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by $0.09. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 57.37% and a net margin of 10.00%. The firm had revenue of $18.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.08 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.50 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.16 earnings per share for the current year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be given a $1.355 dividend. This is a boost from PepsiCo’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.27. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 7th. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.27%. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is presently 81.50%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on PEP. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $178.00 to $181.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of PepsiCo from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $190.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, March 18th. Argus downgraded PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on PepsiCo from $185.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $187.17.

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.