PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) Shares Sold by Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lessened its holdings in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 23.9% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 147,790 shares of the company’s stock after selling 46,309 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $25,101,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in PEP. Cerity Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 59.4% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 993,567 shares of the company’s stock worth $168,747,000 after buying an additional 370,122 shares during the period. Harbour Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in PepsiCo by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Harbour Capital Advisors LLC now owns 27,446 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,747,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Meadow Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in PepsiCo in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $405,000. Manchester Capital Management LLC increased its stake in PepsiCo by 1.4% in the third quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 13,240 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,243,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC increased its stake in PepsiCo by 34.5% in the fourth quarter. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC now owns 12,317 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,091,000 after purchasing an additional 3,159 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

PepsiCo Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PEP traded up $2.33 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $176.46. 7,287,246 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,755,849. The stock has a market cap of $242.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.86, a PEG ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02. PepsiCo, Inc. has a twelve month low of $155.83 and a twelve month high of $196.88. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $168.80 and a 200-day moving average price of $167.55.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 9th. The company reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.72 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $27.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $28.40 billion. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 58.03% and a net margin of 9.92%. The business’s revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.67 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.15 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 given a dividend of $1.265 per share. This represents a $5.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is presently 77.02%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on PEP shares. Barclays increased their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $183.00 to $184.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $199.00 to $209.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. StockNews.com lowered shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $181.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Finally, Argus lowered shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $186.92.

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.