Chesley Taft & Associates LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Chesley Taft & Associates LLC lessened its stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 28.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 175,007 shares of the company’s stock after selling 68,124 shares during the quarter. PepsiCo comprises about 1.3% of Chesley Taft & Associates LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $26,241,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Collier Financial acquired a new stake in PepsiCo during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PepsiCo during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in PepsiCo in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. purchased a new position in PepsiCo during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on PEP. Evercore ISI set a $140.00 price target on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Barclays decreased their price target on PepsiCo from $143.00 to $135.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Bank of America cut their price objective on PepsiCo from $155.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. Wall Street Zen cut PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $163.00 price target on shares of PepsiCo in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $160.69.

PepsiCo Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:PEP opened at $131.74 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05. The company has a market cap of $180.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.96, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.47. PepsiCo, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $127.75 and a fifty-two week high of $180.91. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $136.92 and its 200-day simple moving average is $146.62.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.01). PepsiCo had a return on equity of 58.87% and a net margin of 10.43%. The company had revenue of $17.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.81 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.61 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be given a $1.4225 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $5.69 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.32%. This is a boost from PepsiCo’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.36. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.