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

WASHINGTON TRUST Co cut its stake in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP - Free Report) by 5.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 104,558 shares of the company's stock after selling 5,798 shares during the quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co's holdings in PepsiCo were worth $15,677,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Insight Inv LLC increased its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 9.2% in the first quarter. Insight Inv LLC now owns 14,080 shares of the company's stock worth $2,111,000 after purchasing an additional 1,185 shares during the last quarter. Nicholson Meyer Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in PepsiCo during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $291,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in PepsiCo in the 1st quarter worth approximately $55,000. Jacobsen Capital Management bought a new stake in PepsiCo in the 1st quarter worth approximately $221,000. Finally, Ameritas Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 15,226 shares of the company's stock worth $2,297,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.07% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on PEP. Dbs Bank cut shares of PepsiCo from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on PepsiCo from $158.00 to $159.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Evercore ISI set a $140.00 target price on PepsiCo in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $143.00 to $135.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price objective on PepsiCo from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $159.75.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

PEP stock traded up $1.22 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $136.48. The stock had a trading volume of 9,386,258 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,040,286. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.13, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.83. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $131.36 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $142.54. The stock has a market cap of $187.12 billion, a PE ratio of 20.07, a P/E/G ratio of 4.23 and a beta of 0.45. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 52-week low of $127.60 and a 52-week high of $180.91.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.49 by ($0.01). PepsiCo had a return on equity of 58.28% and a net margin of 10.24%. The firm had revenue of $17.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $17.81 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.61 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 EPS for the current year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th were given a dividend of $1.4225 per share. This is an increase from PepsiCo's previous quarterly dividend of $1.36. This represents a $5.69 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 6th. PepsiCo's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 83.68%.

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.