Argent Trust Co Has $15.62 Million Stock Position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Argent Trust Co cut its position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 2.0% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 102,715 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,066 shares during the period. Argent Trust Co’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $15,619,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Zuckerman Investment Group LLC boosted its position in shares of PepsiCo by 17.8% during the fourth quarter. Zuckerman Investment Group LLC now owns 16,282 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,447,000 after buying an additional 2,457 shares during the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 623,313 shares of the company’s stock valued at $94,781,000 after purchasing an additional 5,020 shares during the period. Redwood Park Advisors LLC purchased a new position in PepsiCo during the fourth quarter worth about $73,000. Kelman Lazarov Inc. grew its position in PepsiCo by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Kelman Lazarov Inc. now owns 1,643 shares of the company’s stock worth $250,000 after buying an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Phoenix Financial Ltd. grew its position in PepsiCo by 9.3% during the fourth quarter. Phoenix Financial Ltd. now owns 31,168 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,748,000 after buying an additional 2,659 shares in the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada assumed coverage on PepsiCo in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. They set a $172.00 price target on the stock. BNP Paribas lowered their target price on PepsiCo from $162.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Jefferies Financial Group cut PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $171.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. TD Cowen reduced their target price on PepsiCo from $183.00 to $160.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their price objective on PepsiCo from $180.00 to $160.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $169.88.

PepsiCo Price Performance

PEP traded up $0.94 during trading on Thursday, reaching $146.53. The stock had a trading volume of 775,756 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,023,499. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 1-year low of $138.33 and a 1-year high of $183.41. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $148.47 and a two-hundred day moving average of $156.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $200.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05.

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

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a dividend of $1.355 per share. This represents a $5.42 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is 77.99%.

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.