PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) Shares Down 0.2% – Here’s Why

PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)’s stock price fell 0.2% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $147.08 and last traded at $148.11. 999,738 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 82% from the average session volume of 5,466,350 shares. The stock had previously closed at $148.34.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on PEP shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $183.00 to $165.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Citigroup reduced their target price on PepsiCo from $195.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $193.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, HSBC lowered their price objective on PepsiCo from $186.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, PepsiCo presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $170.59.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.82. The business’s 50-day moving average is $148.78 and its 200-day moving average is $160.29. The company has a market capitalization of $203.74 billion, a PE ratio of 21.38, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.52.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.02. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 58.87% and a net margin of 10.43%. The company had revenue of $27.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $27.89 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.78 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current year.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $1.355 per share. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.65%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is 77.99%.

Institutional Trading of PepsiCo

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of PepsiCo by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 133,371,504 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,280,471,000 after buying an additional 1,376,133 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 57,268,030 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,738,429,000 after buying an additional 2,775,679 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 31,079,522 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,717,069,000 after buying an additional 582,254 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in PepsiCo by 18.1% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 25,217,043 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,834,504,000 after acquiring an additional 3,856,193 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in PepsiCo in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,729,565,000. 73.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.