Just because legendary investor Warren Buffett is a major shareholder of Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO) does not mean that investors should overlook Pepsico (NYSE: PEP).

As many articles have detailed, there is much to like about Coca-Cola.

It is the same with Pepsi-Cola, too.  Like Coca-Cola, Pepsico is a Dividend Aristocrat.  That means that Pepsico has increased the amount of its dividend annually for at least the past 25 years.  The long term shareholders of Pepsco get a raise each simply for not selling the stock when the amount of the dividend in raised.

With a yield of 2.86 percent, that is an above average dividend for income investors who own PepsiCo.

This dividend income has been a nice addition to a stock that is up for the last month, quarter, six months, and year of market action.  For 2014, Pepsico is up more than 13 percent (chart below).  There is every reason to expect the beverage and snack food giant with a global presence to keep rising, both in stock price and the amount of the dividend.

A major factor why is that few on Wall Street are betting that it will fall!

The short float for Pepsico is just 0.74%.  A short float of 5% is considered to be troubling for a stock.  There are not many in the financial community willing to place money on the price of Pepsico falling.  Not only do few investment professionals expect Pepsico to fall, major institutional investors such as pension groups and mutual funds are major shareholders. That is another bullish sign!

The consensus of the Wall Street analyst community certainly does not.

At present, Pepsico is trading just under $92 a share.  The mean analyst target price over the next year of market action is $97.83.  Combined with a dividend that traditionally grows, Pepsico offers a rewarding total return for long investors.