Kentucky Retirement Systems Decreases Holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. $PEP

Kentucky Retirement Systems trimmed its position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 6.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 88,127 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,775 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in PepsiCo were worth $11,636,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Claris Advisors LLC MO raised its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 14.1% during the second quarter. Claris Advisors LLC MO now owns 2,490 shares of the company’s stock worth $329,000 after purchasing an additional 308 shares during the last quarter. Foster Group Inc. boosted its holdings in PepsiCo by 4.6% in the second quarter. Foster Group Inc. now owns 5,169 shares of the company’s stock valued at $683,000 after purchasing an additional 229 shares during the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC grew its position in PepsiCo by 46.4% during the 2nd quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 114,344 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,098,000 after purchasing an additional 36,239 shares during the period. Fulton Bank N.A. raised its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 25,309 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,342,000 after buying an additional 620 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Naples Global Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. Naples Global Advisors LLC now owns 26,270 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,469,000 after buying an additional 592 shares during the period. 73.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

PepsiCo stock opened at $150.65 on Friday. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 1-year low of $127.60 and a 1-year high of $160.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The stock has a market cap of $205.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.20 and a beta of 0.42. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $147.30 and a 200-day simple moving average of $142.29.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 8th. The company reported $2.29 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.26 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $23.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.91 billion. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 57.58% and a net margin of 7.82%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.31 EPS. On average, analysts expect that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 EPS for the current year.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 5th will be paid a dividend of $1.4225 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 5th. This represents a $5.69 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.8%. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is 108.17%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on PEP. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $172.00 target price on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Tuesday. Wall Street Zen raised shares of PepsiCo from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. HSBC boosted their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $145.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 10th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on PepsiCo from $163.00 to $164.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of PepsiCo from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $151.00 to $164.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $158.35.

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.