Towercrest Capital Management Sells 77 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Towercrest Capital Management lowered its position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 3.5% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 2,148 shares of the company’s stock after selling 77 shares during the period. Towercrest Capital Management’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $376,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA raised its position in PepsiCo by 80.5% during the fourth quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 157 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 77.5% in the first quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 158 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the period. Fortis Group Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 100.0% in the fourth quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC now owns 194 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the period. Life Planning Partners Inc purchased a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the first quarter worth about $35,000. Institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at PepsiCo

In related news, CEO Ramkumar Krishnan sold 5,620 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.00, for a total value of $1,000,360.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 53,953 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,603,634. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on PEP. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on PepsiCo from $184.00 to $182.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 12th. Argus downgraded PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. BNP Paribas started coverage on PepsiCo in a research note on Monday, June 24th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $174.00 target price on the stock. DZ Bank cut PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $183.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Friday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on PepsiCo from $180.00 to $177.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, PepsiCo presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $185.53.

PepsiCo Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of PEP traded down $1.01 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $169.36. The company had a trading volume of 5,332,848 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,599,835. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 0.83. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $169.91 and a 200 day moving average price of $169.89. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 52 week low of $155.83 and a 52 week high of $192.38. The company has a market capitalization of $232.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.52.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 11th. The company reported $2.28 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.12. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 57.37% and a net margin of 10.34%. The firm had revenue of $22.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.59 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.09 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.15 EPS for the current year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th were given a $1.355 dividend. This is a boost from PepsiCo’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.27. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 7th. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is currently 78.66%.

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.