Dividend increase: PepsiCo

Article Excerpt

PEPSICO INC. $108 (Nasdaq symbol PEP; Conservative-Growth Payer Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 1.4 billion; Market cap: $151.2 billion; Dividend yield: 3.4%; Dividend Sustainability Rating: Above Average; www.pepsico.com) is the world’s second-largest softdrink maker after Coca-Cola. Its other brands include Frito-Lay snacks, Gatorade sports drinks, Tropicana juices and Quaker Oats cereals. The company plans to increase its quarterly dividend by 15.2%. Starting with the June 2018 payment, investors will receive $0.9275 a share instead of $0.805. The new annual rate of $3.71 yields 3.3%. In the three months ended December 30, 2017, sales rose 0.1%, to $19.53 billion from $19.52 billion a year earlier. Earnings, however, rose 8.5%, to $1.88 billion from $1.73 billion thanks to savings from a multiyear efficiency plan. It involves closing warehouses and automating more of its bottling plants. Earnings per share in the quarter gained 9.2%, to $1.31 from $1.20, on fewer shares outstanding. For all of 2018, PepsiCo expects to earn $5.70 a share. The stock trades…