PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) Stock Position Lifted by Washington Trust Bank

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

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PEP. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the fourth quarter worth $589,307,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of PepsiCo by 18.1% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 25,217,043 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,834,504,000 after buying an additional 3,856,193 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of PepsiCo by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 57,268,030 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,738,429,000 after acquiring an additional 2,775,679 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in PepsiCo by 21.1% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 13,021,316 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,293,049,000 after buying an additional 2,264,445 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB boosted its position in shares of PepsiCo by 211.4% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 2,345,467 shares of the company’s stock valued at $398,847,000 after acquiring an additional 1,592,343 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on PEP shares. Barclays downgraded PepsiCo from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $168.00 to $156.00 in a research report on Tuesday. HSBC reduced their target price 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. StockNews.com downgraded shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $171.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Piper Sandler initiated coverage on PepsiCo in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $171.00 target price on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $169.88.

PepsiCo Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:PEP opened at $145.45 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The stock has a market cap of $199.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.93, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a 50 day moving average of $149.04 and a 200-day moving average of $159.22. PepsiCo, Inc. has a one year low of $141.51 and a one year high of $183.41.

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

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

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

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.