PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) Trading Down 1.5% – Time to Sell?

PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) was down 1.5% on Monday . The company traded as low as $150.45 and last traded at $150.49. Approximately 913,651 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 84% from the average daily volume of 5,581,431 shares. The stock had previously closed at $152.79.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on PEP. TD Cowen cut PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $190.00 to $183.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on PepsiCo from $177.00 to $176.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised PepsiCo from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $179.00 to $184.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $190.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic raised shares of PepsiCo to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $184.31.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $209.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.54, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96. The company’s 50-day moving average is $163.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $168.02.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 8th. The company reported $2.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $23.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $23.86 billion. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 57.32% and a net margin of 10.18%. PepsiCo’s quarterly revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.25 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th will be given a dividend of $1.355 per share. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is currently 79.94%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PepsiCo

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in shares of PepsiCo by 9.2% during 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 during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its position in shares of PepsiCo by 11.0% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 350,225 shares of the company’s stock valued at $59,549,000 after purchasing an additional 34,633 shares during the last quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 19.3% during the 3rd quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 32,267 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,493,000 after purchasing an additional 5,220 shares during the period. Meridian Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the 3rd quarter worth about $9,589,000. Finally, Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in PepsiCo during the third quarter worth about $527,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

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.