Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Sells 14,314 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund decreased its position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP - Free Report) by 26.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 39,995 shares of the company's stock after selling 14,314 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund's holdings in PepsiCo were worth $5,997,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in PEP. North Point Portfolio Managers Corp OH grew its holdings in PepsiCo by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. North Point Portfolio Managers Corp OH now owns 70,972 shares of the company's stock worth $10,642,000 after acquiring an additional 996 shares during the last quarter. Altrius Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in PepsiCo by 13.2% during the 1st quarter. Altrius Capital Management Inc now owns 29,410 shares of the company's stock worth $4,410,000 after acquiring an additional 3,431 shares during the last quarter. Heartland Bank & Trust Co grew its holdings in PepsiCo by 106.8% during the 1st quarter. Heartland Bank & Trust Co now owns 5,736 shares of the company's stock worth $860,000 after acquiring an additional 2,962 shares during the last quarter. Absher Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in PepsiCo by 7.5% during the 1st quarter. Absher Wealth Management LLC now owns 230,467 shares of the company's stock worth $34,556,000 after acquiring an additional 16,036 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Matrix Asset Advisors Inc. NY grew its holdings in PepsiCo by 114.2% during the 1st quarter. Matrix Asset Advisors Inc. NY now owns 138,122 shares of the company's stock worth $20,710,000 after acquiring an additional 73,645 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.07% of the company's stock.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PEP opened at $129.07 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $176.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.98, a P/E/G ratio of 3.71 and a beta of 0.45. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $133.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $143.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.13, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.65. PepsiCo, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $127.75 and a fifty-two week high of $180.91.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP - Get Free Report) last announced 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 analyst estimates of $17.81 billion. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 58.28% and a net margin of 10.24%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.61 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be issued a dividend of $1.4225 per share. This is an increase from PepsiCo's previous quarterly dividend of $1.36. This represents a $5.69 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. PepsiCo's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 83.68%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PEP has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $168.00 to $153.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 25th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $175.00 to $169.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $143.00 to $135.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $155.00 to $150.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $160.69.

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.

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