PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) Shares Sold by WASHINGTON TRUST Co

WASHINGTON TRUST Co reduced its position in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 1.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 110,356 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,588 shares during the quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $16,776,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cross Staff Investments Inc grew its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 0.9% during the third quarter. Cross Staff Investments Inc now owns 7,080 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,204,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Paulson Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in PepsiCo by 2.1% in the third quarter. Paulson Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,986 shares of the company’s stock valued at $508,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. LCM Capital Management Inc grew its stake in PepsiCo by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. LCM Capital Management Inc now owns 7,573 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,288,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in PepsiCo by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC now owns 5,721 shares of the company’s stock worth $973,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sigma Investment Counselors Inc. raised its position in shares of PepsiCo by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Sigma Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 4,310 shares of the company’s stock valued at $733,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

PEP stock opened at $143.39 on Friday. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 1 year low of $141.51 and a 1 year high of $183.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $196.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.63, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 0.82. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $150.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $163.41.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.02. PepsiCo had a net margin of 10.43% and a return on equity of 58.87%. The firm had revenue of $27.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $27.89 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.78 EPS. PepsiCo’s quarterly revenue was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.34 EPS for the current year.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $1.355 dividend. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.99%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada began coverage on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. They issued a $172.00 price target for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $184.00 to $178.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. BNP Paribas lowered their price objective on PepsiCo from $162.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, HSBC reduced their target price on PepsiCo from $186.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $171.47.

PepsiCo Company 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.