Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Trims Stock Holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund cut its stake in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 8.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 40,668 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,674 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $6,916,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in shares of PepsiCo by 9.2% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 99,785 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,968,000 after acquiring an additional 8,406 shares in the last quarter. M&G Plc lifted its holdings in PepsiCo by 3.6% in the 2nd quarter. M&G Plc now owns 426,269 shares of the company’s stock worth $70,334,000 after purchasing an additional 14,724 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc grew its holdings in PepsiCo by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc now owns 135,331 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,013,000 after buying an additional 4,547 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Family Office LLC raised its position in shares of PepsiCo by 119.6% during the third quarter. Fiduciary Family Office LLC now owns 6,843 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,164,000 after buying an additional 3,727 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GFS Advisors LLC grew its stake in PepsiCo by 13,209.4% during the third quarter. GFS Advisors LLC now owns 72,270 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,290,000 after acquiring an additional 71,727 shares in the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PEP has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley downgraded PepsiCo from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $185.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on PepsiCo from $190.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 30th. DZ Bank downgraded PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $183.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of PepsiCo to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of PepsiCo from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $183.92.

PepsiCo Price Performance

Shares of PEP stock opened at $158.62 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $217.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.40, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96. PepsiCo, Inc. has a twelve month low of $158.03 and a twelve month high of $183.41. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $170.82 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $171.56.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 8th. The company reported $2.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $23.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.86 billion. PepsiCo had a net margin of 10.18% and a return on equity of 57.32%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.25 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.