PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) Shares Down 0.2%

PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)’s stock price dropped 0.2% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $174.84 and last traded at $175.71. Approximately 644,773 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 89% from the average daily volume of 5,759,966 shares. The stock had previously closed at $176.14.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PEP has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Argus lowered PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Barclays boosted their price target on PepsiCo from $184.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Citigroup upgraded PepsiCo from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $180.00 to $195.00 in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on PepsiCo from $199.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded PepsiCo from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $190.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, March 18th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, PepsiCo has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $187.42.

PepsiCo Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 0.86. The company has a 50-day moving average of $169.60 and a 200-day moving average of $168.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $241.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.53.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.61 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $18.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.08 billion. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 57.37% and a net margin of 10.00%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.50 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st were given a $1.265 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $5.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.88%. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is presently 76.09%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PepsiCo

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Strategy Asset Managers LLC increased its holdings in PepsiCo by 0.9% in the first quarter. Strategy Asset Managers LLC now owns 6,632 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,161,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Amplius Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of PepsiCo by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Amplius Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,241 shares of the company’s stock valued at $381,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 2.7% in the third quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,345 shares of the company’s stock valued at $397,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in PepsiCo by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,420 shares of the company’s stock worth $411,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the period. Finally, SYM FINANCIAL Corp grew its stake in PepsiCo by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp now owns 2,290 shares of the company’s stock valued at $389,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the period. 73.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

PepsiCo Company 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.