PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) Shares Sold by Washington Trust Advisors Inc.

Washington Trust Advisors Inc. cut its stake in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 0.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 135,441 shares of the company’s stock after selling 599 shares during the period. PepsiCo makes up 2.2% of Washington Trust Advisors Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Washington Trust Advisors Inc.’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $23,003,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PEP. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 95,514.1% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 42,876,248 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,746,023,000 after acquiring an additional 42,831,405 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in PepsiCo in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,519,707,000. Morgan Stanley raised its stake in PepsiCo by 21.0% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 26,720,027 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,827,240,000 after acquiring an additional 4,629,947 shares during the last quarter. Comerica Bank purchased a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $360,472,000. Finally, J.P. Morgan Private Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the third quarter valued at approximately $329,179,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on PEP. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of PepsiCo from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $185.00 to $176.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $181.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $180.00 price objective on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Monday, February 12th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $195.00 price target on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Friday, February 9th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on PepsiCo from $179.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 13th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $187.77.

PepsiCo Trading Up 0.3 %

PepsiCo stock traded up $0.46 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $173.19. The company had a trading volume of 2,585,072 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,904,813. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 0.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $238.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.29, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.53. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 12-month low of $155.83 and a 12-month high of $196.88. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $167.83 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $167.98.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 9th. The company reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.72 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $27.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $28.40 billion. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 58.03% and a net margin of 9.92%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.67 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 1st will be issued a dividend of $1.265 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $5.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.92%. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is currently 77.02%.

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.