Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Trims Stock Position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Key Points

• Maryland State Retirement & Pension System reduced its holdings in PepsiCo by 13.2%, selling 9,816 shares during the first quarter, leaving them with a total of 64,294 shares worth $9.64 million.
• PepsiCo reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $2.03, and had a revenue of $22.73 billion, which was also above consensus estimates.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.4225 per share, reflecting a yield of 4.0%, with dividends to be paid on September 30th.

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System cut its holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP - Free Report) by 13.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 64,294 shares of the company's stock after selling 9,816 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System's holdings in PepsiCo were worth $9,640,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of PEP. Elite Financial Inc. bought a new position in PepsiCo in the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. bought a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. purchased a new position in PepsiCo in the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. Bridge Generations Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in PepsiCo during the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Sunbeam Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in PepsiCo in the 4th quarter valued at about $47,000. Institutional investors own 73.07% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on PEP shares. Barclays raised their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $132.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $148.00 price objective on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Cowen reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Thursday, July 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on PepsiCo from $150.00 to $139.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Evercore ISI set a $140.00 price objective on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $158.73.

PepsiCo Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of PEP traded up $1.29 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $145.21. 5,313,480 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,539,993. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 1 year low of $127.60 and a 1 year high of $179.73. The firm's fifty day moving average is $135.71 and its 200-day moving average is $140.70. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $198.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.83 and a beta of 0.45.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The company reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.09. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 57.81% and a net margin of 8.23%. The company had revenue of $22.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $22.28 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.28 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current year.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th will be paid a $1.4225 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $5.69 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.9%. PepsiCo's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 103.64%.

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.