Avalon Trust Co Has $517,000 Stock Holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Avalon Trust Co boosted its holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 9.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,044 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 264 shares during the quarter. Avalon Trust Co’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $517,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 5.3% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 18,423,845 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,121,736,000 after purchasing an additional 920,032 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in PepsiCo by 3.7% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 16,878,022 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,859,812,000 after buying an additional 595,357 shares in the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System lifted its stake in PepsiCo by 17.9% during the 4th quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 9,664,323 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,641,389,000 after acquiring an additional 1,470,064 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in PepsiCo by 9.1% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,316,036 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,239,629,000 after acquiring an additional 608,321 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG grew its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 6,774,800 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,147,922,000 after acquiring an additional 142,243 shares in the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PEP traded up $0.70 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $176.15. 3,492,120 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,328,097. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 0.86. PepsiCo, Inc. has a one year low of $155.83 and a one year high of $196.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $242.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.49, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.52. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $170.01 and a two-hundred day moving average of $168.26.

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

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th will be given a $1.355 dividend. This is a positive change from PepsiCo’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.27. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 7th. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is 81.50%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on PEP. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $181.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. Argus cut shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on PepsiCo from $199.00 to $209.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $178.00 to $181.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, PepsiCo presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $187.42.

PepsiCo 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.