First Western Trust Bank Reduces Stock Position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

First Western Trust Bank lowered its stake in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 18,224 shares of the company’s stock after selling 111 shares during the period. First Western Trust Bank’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $3,375,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PEP. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich boosted its stake in PepsiCo by 100,174.2% during the second quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 531,509,481 shares of the company’s stock valued at $98,446,186,000 after buying an additional 530,979,425 shares during the period. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in PepsiCo by 95,514.1% during the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 42,876,248 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,746,023,000 after buying an additional 42,831,405 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in PepsiCo during the fourth quarter valued at $2,519,707,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in PepsiCo by 98.6% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 12,180,327 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,220,475,000 after purchasing an additional 6,045,912 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Providence Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in PepsiCo by 18,231.4% during the first quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 4,943,247 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,116,000 after purchasing an additional 4,916,281 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.40% of the company’s stock.

PepsiCo Stock Down 0.5 %

NASDAQ PEP traded down $0.80 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $165.96. The stock had a trading volume of 1,539,270 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,881,474. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 1 year low of $155.83 and a 1 year high of $196.88. The stock has a market cap of $228.17 billion, a PE ratio of 27.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $167.57 and a 200 day moving average price of $178.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.89, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.71.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 10th. The company reported $2.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.15 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $23.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.41 billion. PepsiCo had a net margin of 9.05% and a return on equity of 58.28%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.97 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 7.55 earnings per share for the current year.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 1st will be paid a $1.265 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 30th. This represents a $5.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.05%. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 84.33%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Hugh F. Johnston sold 48,388 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.65, for a total transaction of $8,063,860.20. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 96,627 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,102,889.55. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $180.00 price target on shares of PepsiCo in a research report on Wednesday, October 11th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on PepsiCo from $170.00 to $172.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 11th. Wedbush cut their target price on PepsiCo from $206.00 to $195.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 9th. Argus cut their target price on PepsiCo from $212.00 to $186.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on PepsiCo from $210.00 to $190.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 11th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, PepsiCo has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $187.57.

PepsiCo Company Profile

PepsiCo, Inc manufactures, markets, distributes, and sells 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.