Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Purchases 13,641 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund boosted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP - Free Report) by 33.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 54,309 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 13,641 shares during the period. PepsiCo comprises approximately 0.7% of Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund's investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest position. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund's holdings in PepsiCo were worth $8,258,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in PepsiCo by 17,113.0% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,220,385 shares of the company's stock valued at $547,626,000 after purchasing an additional 3,201,676 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 2,775,679 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in PepsiCo by 21.1% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 13,021,316 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,293,049,000 after purchasing an additional 2,264,445 shares during the period. Swedbank AB increased its holdings in PepsiCo by 211.4% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 2,345,467 shares of the company's stock valued at $398,847,000 after purchasing an additional 1,592,343 shares during the period. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in PepsiCo by 360.0% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,697,742 shares of the company's stock valued at $258,158,000 after purchasing an additional 1,328,672 shares during the period. 73.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

Shares of PepsiCo stock traded up $4.40 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $153.50. 10,586,982 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,999,466. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 12 month low of $141.51 and a 12 month high of $183.41. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $148.75 and a 200 day simple moving average of $162.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.82. The company has a market capitalization of $210.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.09, a P/E/G ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.54.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.96 EPS 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 business had revenue of $27.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $27.89 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.78 earnings per share. PepsiCo's revenue for the quarter was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.31 earnings per share 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 paid a $1.355 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.42 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.53%. PepsiCo's payout ratio is 77.99%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on PEP. HSBC decreased their price objective on PepsiCo from $186.00 to $170.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. CICC Research reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Friday, February 7th. UBS Group decreased their price target on PepsiCo from $193.00 to $175.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Citigroup reduced their target price on PepsiCo from $195.00 to $170.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on PepsiCo from $184.00 to $178.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $171.47.

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.