Retirement Systems of Alabama Sells 8,252 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Retirement Systems of Alabama lowered its stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 1.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 552,306 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,252 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $93,804,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA increased its position in shares of PepsiCo by 80.5% in the fourth quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 157 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. Life Planning Partners Inc bought a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Naples Money Management LLC bought a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Avion Wealth boosted its stake in PepsiCo by 61.7% in the fourth quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 241 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

PepsiCo Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of PepsiCo stock traded down $1.10 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $175.58. The company had a trading volume of 4,472,102 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,365,961. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $169.40 and a 200 day moving average price of $167.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.68. The firm has a market cap of $241.39 billion, a PE ratio of 26.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.53. PepsiCo, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $155.83 and a fifty-two week high of $196.88.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.61 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $18.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.08 billion. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 57.37% and a net margin of 10.00%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.50 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.16 earnings per share for the current year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 1st were paid a $1.265 dividend. This represents a $5.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is currently 76.09%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on PEP shares. Morgan Stanley raised PepsiCo from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $190.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on PepsiCo from $199.00 to $209.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $195.00 price objective on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Barclays raised their price objective on PepsiCo from $184.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on PepsiCo from $178.00 to $181.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $187.42.

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.