Webster Bank N. A. Has $8.48 Million Stock Holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Webster Bank N. A. decreased its stake in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 1.5% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 48,462 shares of the company’s stock after selling 739 shares during the period. PepsiCo comprises about 0.9% of Webster Bank N. A.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest position. Webster Bank N. A.’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $8,481,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PEP. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,686,139,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 9,623.6% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,058,061 shares of the company’s stock worth $519,381,000 after acquiring an additional 3,026,611 shares during the period. Flossbach Von Storch AG boosted its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 121.4% during the 4th quarter. Flossbach Von Storch AG now owns 2,727,622 shares of the company’s stock worth $463,259,000 after acquiring an additional 1,495,586 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 17.9% during the 4th quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 9,664,323 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,641,389,000 after acquiring an additional 1,470,064 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 17.7% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,954,951 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,520,909,000 after acquiring an additional 1,345,065 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PEP has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $195.00 target price on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on PepsiCo from $181.00 to $184.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Barclays reduced their price target on PepsiCo from $185.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on PepsiCo from $209.00 to $211.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 16th. Finally, BNP Paribas assumed coverage on PepsiCo in a research note on Monday, June 24th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $174.00 price target for the company. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, PepsiCo currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $186.38.

PepsiCo Price Performance

Shares of PepsiCo stock traded down $1.33 during trading on Friday, reaching $164.93. 8,756,033 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,392,291. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 0.86. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 1-year low of $155.83 and a 1-year high of $192.38. The company has a market cap of $226.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.80, a PEG ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.52. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $173.37 and its 200 day moving average price is $170.30.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.61 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by $0.09. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 57.37% and a net margin of 10.00%. The company had revenue of $18.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.08 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.50 EPS. PepsiCo’s revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.16 earnings per share for the current year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 7th were issued a $1.355 dividend. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 7th. This is a boost from PepsiCo’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.27. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is presently 81.50%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Ramkumar Krishnan sold 5,620 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.00, for a total value of $1,000,360.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 53,953 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,603,634. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

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.