Greenleaf Trust Sells 7,426 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Greenleaf Trust trimmed its position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 7.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 95,166 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,426 shares during the quarter. Greenleaf Trust’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $16,163,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA raised its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 80.5% in the 4th quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 157 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. Life Planning Partners Inc acquired a new position in PepsiCo in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Naples Money Management LLC acquired a new position in PepsiCo in the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Avion Wealth grew its stake in PepsiCo by 61.7% in the 4th quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 241 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new position in PepsiCo in the 4th quarter valued at about $44,000. 73.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

PepsiCo Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PEP traded up $1.86 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $174.13. 6,636,400 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,735,731. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 0.85. The company has a market cap of $239.34 billion, a PE ratio of 26.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.53. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $168.55 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $167.42. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 1-year low of $155.83 and a 1-year high of $196.88.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 9th. The company reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.72 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $27.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $28.40 billion. PepsiCo had a net margin of 9.92% and a return on equity of 58.03%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.67 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.15 EPS for the current year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 1st were given a dividend of $1.265 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $5.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.91%. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is 77.02%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on PEP. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $195.00 price target on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $183.00 to $184.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Citigroup upgraded shares of PepsiCo from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $180.00 to $195.00 in a research note on Monday, February 12th. StockNews.com lowered shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $199.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $186.92.

PepsiCo Company Profile

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.