Appleton Partners Inc. MA Sells 1,891 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Appleton Partners Inc. MA decreased its stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 3.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 52,406 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,891 shares during the quarter. Appleton Partners Inc. MA’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $7,969,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in PepsiCo by 17,113.0% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,220,385 shares of the company’s stock worth $547,626,000 after purchasing an additional 3,201,676 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in PepsiCo by 5.1% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 57,268,030 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,738,429,000 after acquiring an additional 2,775,679 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in PepsiCo by 21.1% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 13,021,316 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,293,049,000 after acquiring an additional 2,264,445 shares during the period. Swedbank AB raised its position in shares of PepsiCo by 211.4% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 2,345,467 shares of the company’s stock worth $398,847,000 after purchasing an additional 1,592,343 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of PepsiCo by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 21,360,850 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,632,413,000 after purchasing an additional 1,125,059 shares during the period. 73.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on the stock. HSBC dropped their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $186.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada initiated coverage on PepsiCo in a report on Tuesday. They set a $172.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on PepsiCo from $183.00 to $165.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. UBS Group dropped their target price on PepsiCo from $193.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $195.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $171.47.

PepsiCo Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PEP opened at $144.58 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $151.80 and its 200-day moving average is $164.26. The firm has a market cap of $198.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.54. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 1-year low of $141.51 and a 1-year high of $183.41. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $27.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $27.89 billion. PepsiCo had a net margin of 10.18% and a return on equity of 57.32%. The business’s revenue was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.78 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.15 earnings per share for the current year.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $1.355 dividend. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.99%.

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.