Washington Trust Advisors Inc. Trims Stock Position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Washington Trust Advisors Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 2.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 127,919 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,732 shares during the quarter. PepsiCo makes up approximately 1.6% of Washington Trust Advisors Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 19th biggest position. Washington Trust Advisors Inc.’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $19,451,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PEP. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in PepsiCo by 9.2% during the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 99,785 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,968,000 after buying an additional 8,406 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in PepsiCo by 104.2% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,705,574 shares of the company’s stock valued at $259,350,000 after buying an additional 870,451 shares in the last quarter. Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV grew its holdings in PepsiCo by 12.8% during the 4th quarter. Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 41,580 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,323,000 after buying an additional 4,712 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in PepsiCo by 11.0% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 350,225 shares of the company’s stock valued at $59,549,000 after buying an additional 34,633 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IHT Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in PepsiCo by 19.3% during the 3rd quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 32,267 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,493,000 after buying an additional 5,220 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

Shares of PepsiCo stock opened at $153.88 on Thursday. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 52 week low of $141.51 and a 52 week high of $183.41. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $148.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $161.14. The firm has a market cap of $211.05 billion, a PE ratio of 22.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.02. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 58.87% and a net margin of 10.43%. The firm had revenue of $27.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $27.89 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.78 EPS. PepsiCo’s revenue was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current year.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $1.355 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.42 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.52%. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.99%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada assumed coverage on PepsiCo in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. They set a $172.00 target price for the company. HSBC lowered their target price on PepsiCo from $186.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on PepsiCo from $183.00 to $165.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. CICC Research reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of PepsiCo in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on PepsiCo from $158.00 to $153.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $171.47.

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.