Washington Trust Bank Acquires 1,500 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Washington Trust Bank grew its holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 16.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 10,602 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,500 shares during the quarter. Washington Trust Bank’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $1,612,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of PEP. Collier Financial acquired a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC acquired a new position in PepsiCo during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in PepsiCo in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Human Investing LLC acquired a new stake in PepsiCo during the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

PepsiCo Price Performance

Shares of PEP opened at $145.45 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $199.48 billion, a PE ratio of 20.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.52. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 52-week low of $141.51 and a 52-week high of $183.41. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $149.04 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $159.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.82.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $27.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $27.89 billion. PepsiCo had a net margin of 10.43% and a return on equity of 58.87%. PepsiCo’s quarterly revenue was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.78 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 EPS for the current year.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $1.355 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.42 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.73%. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is presently 77.99%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on PepsiCo from $185.00 to $168.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. HSBC reduced their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $186.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. BNP Paribas decreased their price target on PepsiCo from $162.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. StockNews.com cut shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Barclays downgraded PepsiCo from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $168.00 to $156.00 in a report on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, PepsiCo has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $169.88.

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.