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

Chesley Taft & Associates LLC decreased its position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 28.0% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 175,007 shares of the company’s stock after selling 68,124 shares during the period. PepsiCo makes up 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 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PEP. Collier Financial purchased a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PepsiCo during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. acquired a new position in PepsiCo in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. 73.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PEP has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Bank of America dropped their price target on PepsiCo from $155.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $163.00 price target on shares of PepsiCo in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target on PepsiCo from $175.00 to $169.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, PepsiCo presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $160.69.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

PEP stock opened at $131.74 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 12-month low of $127.75 and a 12-month high of $180.91. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $136.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $146.62. The firm has a market cap of $180.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.96, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.47.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last posted 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). The company had revenue of $17.92 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.81 billion. PepsiCo had a net margin of 10.43% and a return on equity of 58.87%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.61 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 EPS for the current year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

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