Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Sells 8,100 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lessened its stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 4.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 174,000 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,100 shares during the quarter. PepsiCo makes up 0.5% of Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $26,458,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in PEP. Cross Staff Investments Inc grew its position in shares of PepsiCo by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Cross Staff Investments Inc now owns 7,080 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,204,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the period. Paulson Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in PepsiCo by 2.1% in the third quarter. Paulson Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,986 shares of the company’s stock valued at $508,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. LCM Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in PepsiCo by 0.8% during the third quarter. LCM Capital Management Inc now owns 7,573 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,288,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. Demars Financial Group LLC increased its position in PepsiCo by 1.1% in the third quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC now owns 5,721 shares of the company’s stock worth $973,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sigma Investment Counselors Inc. lifted its position in shares of PepsiCo by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Sigma Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 4,310 shares of the company’s stock valued at $733,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages 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. StockNews.com lowered shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. TD Cowen cut their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $183.00 to $160.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Royal Bank of Canada initiated coverage on PepsiCo in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. They set a $172.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on PepsiCo from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, PepsiCo presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $171.47.

PepsiCo Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of PepsiCo stock opened at $145.64 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.70. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 1 year low of $141.51 and a 1 year high of $183.41. The firm has a market cap of $199.75 billion, a PE ratio of 20.96, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $151.05 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $163.87.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $27.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $27.89 billion. PepsiCo had a net margin of 10.43% and a return on equity of 58.87%. The firm’s revenue was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.78 EPS. Analysts expect that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $1.355 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.42 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.72%. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.99%.

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.