California Public Employees Retirement System Has $1.08 Billion Position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

California Public Employees Retirement System cut its position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 9.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 7,070,236 shares of the company’s stock after selling 715,602 shares during the period. PepsiCo comprises about 0.7% of California Public Employees Retirement System’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position. California Public Employees Retirement System owned approximately 0.52% of PepsiCo worth $1,075,100,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of PepsiCo during the fourth quarter worth about $2,729,565,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in PepsiCo during the 4th quarter worth approximately $589,307,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 18.1% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 25,217,043 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,834,504,000 after buying an additional 3,856,193 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of PepsiCo by 5.1% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 57,268,030 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,738,429,000 after acquiring an additional 2,775,679 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in PepsiCo by 21.1% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 13,021,316 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,293,049,000 after acquiring an additional 2,264,445 shares in the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

PepsiCo Price Performance

NASDAQ:PEP opened at $149.27 on Friday. 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 firm has a market cap of $204.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.48, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.52. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 52 week low of $141.51 and a 52 week high of $183.41. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $149.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $158.03.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $27.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $27.89 billion. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 58.87% and a net margin of 10.43%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.78 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $1.355 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.63%. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is 77.99%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on PEP. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on PepsiCo from $180.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. StockNews.com downgraded PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays downgraded shares of PepsiCo from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $168.00 to $156.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. TD Cowen reduced their target price 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. Finally, CICC Research reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Friday, February 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $169.88.

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.