Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Purchases 1,142 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System grew its stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 1.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 107,257 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,142 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $18,217,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA lifted its holdings in PepsiCo by 80.5% during the 4th quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 157 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Life Planning Partners Inc bought a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Naples Money Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in PepsiCo during the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Avion Wealth raised its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 61.7% in the 4th quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 241 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

PepsiCo Trading Up 1.1 %

PepsiCo stock traded up $1.88 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $177.70. 1,568,584 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,668,263. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $244.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.60, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.52. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $170.30 and its 200 day simple moving average is $168.57. 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, beating the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.09. PepsiCo had a net margin of 10.00% and a return on equity of 57.37%. The business had revenue of $18.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.08 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.50 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.16 EPS for the current year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th will be issued a $1.355 dividend. This is a boost from PepsiCo’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.27. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 7th. This represents a $5.42 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.05%. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 76.09%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on PepsiCo from $178.00 to $181.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Citigroup raised shares of PepsiCo from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $180.00 to $195.00 in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $195.00 target price on shares of PepsiCo in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $181.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, PepsiCo presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $187.42.

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.