S&CO Inc. Sells 2,175 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

S&CO Inc. cut its position in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 1.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 116,351 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,175 shares during the period. PepsiCo comprises about 1.5% of S&CO Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position. S&CO Inc.’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $19,761,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA boosted its stake in 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 buying an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Life Planning Partners Inc acquired a new stake in PepsiCo in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Naples Money Management LLC acquired a new stake in PepsiCo in the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in PepsiCo in the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Avion Wealth boosted its stake in PepsiCo by 61.7% in the fourth quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 241 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at PepsiCo

In other news, CEO Ramkumar Krishnan sold 5,620 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.00, for a total value of $1,000,360.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 53,953 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,603,634. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

PepsiCo Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of PEP stock traded down $1.28 on Monday, hitting $177.99. 3,447,300 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,467,553. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $244.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.52. The business has a 50-day moving average of $174.57 and a 200 day moving average of $170.18. PepsiCo, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $155.83 and a fifty-two week high of $192.38.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.61 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.09. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 57.37% and a net margin of 10.00%. The firm had revenue of $18.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.08 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.50 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.17 EPS for the current year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th will be given a dividend of $1.355 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 7th. This is a boost from PepsiCo’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.27. This represents a $5.42 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.05%. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is 76.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on PEP. Argus lowered PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Barclays upped their price target on PepsiCo from $184.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $195.00 price target on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. StockNews.com lowered PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on PepsiCo from $178.00 to $181.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $187.58.

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.