Washington Trust Advisors Inc. Has $23 Million Stock Holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Washington Trust Advisors Inc. decreased its stake in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 0.4% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 135,441 shares of the company’s stock after selling 599 shares during the period. PepsiCo makes up 2.2% of Washington Trust Advisors Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Washington Trust Advisors Inc.’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $23,003,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Proquility Private Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in PepsiCo by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Proquility Private Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,260 shares of the company’s stock worth $950,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Amplius Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in PepsiCo by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Amplius Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,241 shares of the company’s stock worth $381,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in PepsiCo by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,345 shares of the company’s stock worth $397,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in PepsiCo by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,420 shares of the company’s stock worth $411,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cassia Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in PepsiCo by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Cassia Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,143 shares of the company’s stock worth $702,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on PEP shares. StockNews.com cut PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. Barclays upped their price target on PepsiCo from $179.00 to $183.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut PepsiCo from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $185.00 to $176.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 19th. Morgan Stanley raised PepsiCo from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $190.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on PepsiCo from $181.00 to $184.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $187.77.

PepsiCo Stock Up 0.3 %

NASDAQ:PEP traded up $0.46 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $173.19. 2,585,072 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,904,813. PepsiCo, Inc. has a twelve month low of $155.83 and a twelve month high of $196.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.68. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $167.83 and a 200 day moving average of $167.98. The stock has a market cap of $238.05 billion, a PE ratio of 26.29, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.53.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 9th. The company reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.72 by $0.06. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 58.03% and a net margin of 9.92%. The firm had revenue of $27.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $28.40 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.67 EPS. The business’s revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.15 earnings per share for the current year.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st will be issued a $1.265 dividend. This represents a $5.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.92%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 29th. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is presently 77.02%.

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.