Utah Retirement Systems Grows Stock Holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Utah Retirement Systems raised its position in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 0.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 227,964 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the period. Utah Retirement Systems’ holdings in PepsiCo were worth $34,664,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 203.3% in the fourth quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 40,185 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,111,000 after buying an additional 26,935 shares during the period. Lido Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 11.4% in the fourth quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 88,779 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,601,000 after buying an additional 9,119 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 8.7% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 16,403,395 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,494,300,000 after buying an additional 1,306,818 shares during the period. Bellwether Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the fourth quarter worth about $197,000. Finally, Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the fourth quarter worth about $123,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PEP has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Bank of America cut their target price on PepsiCo from $155.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on PepsiCo from $184.00 to $178.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on PepsiCo in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $171.00 target price on the stock. TD Cowen cut their target price on PepsiCo from $183.00 to $160.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on PepsiCo from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $160.69.

PepsiCo Price Performance

PEP stock opened at $134.31 on Wednesday. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 52-week low of $131.52 and a 52-week high of $183.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $184.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.33, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.49. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $147.16 and a 200-day moving average price of $153.24. 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 (NASDAQ:PEP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.01). PepsiCo had a return on equity of 58.87% and a net margin of 10.43%. The firm had revenue of $17.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.81 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.61 earnings per share. PepsiCo’s revenue was down 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a $1.355 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.04%. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is currently 79.71%.

About PepsiCo

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.