Diversified Trust Co Buys 51,736 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. $PEP

Diversified Trust Co boosted its stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 57.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 141,600 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 51,736 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $17,944,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vista Capital Partners Inc. acquired a new position in PepsiCo in the third quarter worth about $215,000. Financial Freedom LLC bought a new stake in PepsiCo in the third quarter valued at about $126,000. Aberdeen Group plc raised its stake in PepsiCo by 159.0% during the third quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 2,863,052 shares of the company’s stock valued at $362,806,000 after buying an additional 1,757,560 shares in the last quarter. ProVise Management Group LLC raised its stake in PepsiCo by 4.9% during the third quarter. ProVise Management Group LLC now owns 46,912 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,945,000 after buying an additional 2,172 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Money Concepts Capital Corp lifted its holdings in PepsiCo by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Money Concepts Capital Corp now owns 28,748 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,643,000 after buying an additional 666 shares during the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at PepsiCo

In related news, CEO Ramon Laguarta sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.13, for a total value of $4,053,900.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 491,645 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $66,435,988.85. This trade represents a 5.75% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert Pohlad acquired 184,646 shares of PepsiCo stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 14th. The shares were bought at an average price of $128.28 per share, with a total value of $23,686,388.88. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 433,009 shares in the company, valued at approximately $55,546,394.52. This trade represents a 74.35% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PEP has been the subject of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on PepsiCo from $140.00 to $135.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on PepsiCo from $161.00 to $150.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on PepsiCo from $159.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. Freedom Broker raised shares of PepsiCo from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, October 10th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane lowered their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $161.00 to $157.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $143.28.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PEP opened at $145.44 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $133.64 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $145.68. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 52-week low of $123.47 and a 52-week high of $171.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $198.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.27, a P/E/G ratio of 4.23 and a beta of 0.31.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 7th. The company reported $2.34 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.29 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $25.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $24.95 billion. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 53.08% and a net margin of 11.09%. PepsiCo’s quarterly revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.29 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.42 earnings per share for the current year.

PepsiCo Profile

PepsiCo, Inc. is a global food and beverage company that develops, manufactures, markets and distributes a broad range of products. Its portfolio includes snacks such as Lay’s, Doritos and Cheetos, as well as beverages including Pepsi, Gatorade and Mountain Dew. The company was formed in 1965 through the merger of Pepsi-Cola and Frito-Lay. Its products are sold in more than 200 countries and territories through retail, food-service and other distribution channels. PepsiCo is headquartered in Purchase, New York.