Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Sells 28,068 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio cut its stake in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP - Free Report) by 4.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 587,732 shares of the company's stock after selling 28,068 shares during the quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio's holdings in PepsiCo were worth $89,371,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Collier Financial bought a new position in PepsiCo during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. 73.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on PEP shares. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded PepsiCo from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $171.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and set a $163.00 target price on shares of PepsiCo in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. HSBC decreased their target price on PepsiCo from $186.00 to $170.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Citigroup decreased their target price on PepsiCo from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Evercore ISI set a $140.00 target price on PepsiCo in a research report 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $160.69.

PepsiCo Trading Up 0.8%

PEP traded up $1.10 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $130.44. 3,548,727 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,462,663. The company's fifty day moving average price is $139.16 and its 200-day moving average price is $147.95. 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, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $127.75 and a fifty-two week high of $180.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $178.84 billion, a PE ratio of 18.75, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.47.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.49 by ($0.01). PepsiCo had a net margin of 10.43% and a return on equity of 58.87%. The firm had revenue of $17.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.81 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.61 EPS. PepsiCo's quarterly revenue was down 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 EPS for the current year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th will be paid a $1.4225 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. This is a positive change from PepsiCo's previous quarterly dividend of $1.36. This represents a $5.69 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.36%. PepsiCo's dividend payout ratio is presently 83.68%.

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.