Whittier Trust Co. Sells 56,466 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Whittier Trust Co. lessened its holdings in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 29.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 134,362 shares of the company’s stock after selling 56,466 shares during the quarter. Whittier Trust Co.’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $20,431,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PEP. Collier Financial purchased a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC purchased a new position in PepsiCo during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Human Investing LLC bought a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. 73.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

PepsiCo Price Performance

PepsiCo stock opened at $148.11 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $203.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.31, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.52. PepsiCo, Inc. has a one year low of $141.51 and a one year high of $183.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $148.97 and a 200-day moving average price of $159.50.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.02. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 58.87% and a net margin of 10.43%. The business had revenue of $27.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $27.89 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.78 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 EPS for the current year.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $1.355 dividend. This represents a $5.42 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.66%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is 77.99%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities 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 research report on Tuesday, February 4th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on PepsiCo from $193.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Citigroup lowered their target price on PepsiCo from $195.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $183.00 to $165.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $169.88.

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.