Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Sells 5,185 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System decreased its holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 6.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 74,110 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,185 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $11,269,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. State Street Corp raised its stake in PepsiCo by 5.1% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 57,268,030 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,738,429,000 after buying an additional 2,775,679 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 1.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 30,497,268 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,170,529,000 after purchasing an additional 543,558 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 18.1% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 25,217,043 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,834,504,000 after purchasing an additional 3,856,193 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 14,013,158 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,130,841,000 after purchasing an additional 689,383 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 21.1% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 13,021,316 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,293,049,000 after purchasing an additional 2,264,445 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

PepsiCo Trading Down 1.6 %

Shares of PEP stock opened at $148.99 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $148.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $159.58. The company has a market cap of $204.34 billion, a PE ratio of 21.44, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.52. PepsiCo, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $141.51 and a fifty-two week high of $183.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.82.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.02. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 58.87% and a net margin of 10.43%. The company had revenue of $27.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $27.89 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.78 EPS. PepsiCo’s revenue for the quarter was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $1.355 per share. This represents a $5.42 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.64%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.99%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group lowered PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $171.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on PepsiCo from $185.00 to $168.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. BNP Paribas reduced their price target on PepsiCo from $162.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. HSBC reduced their price target on PepsiCo from $186.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their price target on PepsiCo from $183.00 to $160.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $169.88.

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.