Washington Trust Bank Sells 2,535 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Washington Trust Bank trimmed its holdings in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP - Free Report) by 23.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 8,067 shares of the company's stock after selling 2,535 shares during the quarter. Washington Trust Bank's holdings in PepsiCo were worth $1,210,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Elite Financial Inc. acquired a new position in PepsiCo during the first quarter worth $28,000. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in PepsiCo during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. 73.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PEP has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $168.00 to $153.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of PepsiCo from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $171.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $158.00 to $159.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $148.00 price objective on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, Evercore ISI set a $140.00 price objective on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, PepsiCo currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $159.75.

PepsiCo Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ PEP traded up $0.59 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $135.04. The stock had a trading volume of 7,714,987 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,072,592. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.13, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.83. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 1 year low of $127.60 and a 1 year high of $180.91. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $131.42 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $141.98. The firm has a market cap of $185.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.21 and a beta of 0.45.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.48 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 period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.61 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th were paid a $1.4225 dividend. This represents a $5.69 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.21%. This is an increase from PepsiCo's previous quarterly dividend of $1.36. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 6th. PepsiCo's payout ratio is presently 83.68%.

PepsiCo Company 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.