PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) Trading 0.9% Higher – What’s Next?

PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) shot up 0.9% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $150.26 and last traded at $150.40. 1,356,390 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 80% from the average session volume of 6,721,867 shares. The stock had previously closed at $149.10.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on PEP. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on PepsiCo from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on PepsiCo from $185.00 to $168.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Citigroup cut their price objective on PepsiCo from $195.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on PepsiCo from $183.00 to $165.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, HSBC cut their price objective on PepsiCo from $186.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, PepsiCo presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $171.47.

PepsiCo Trading Up 3.0 %

The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $210.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.09, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.54. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $148.66 and a 200 day moving average of $162.18.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.02. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 58.87% and a net margin of 10.43%. The firm had revenue of $27.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $27.89 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.78 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $1.355 per share. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is currently 77.99%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PepsiCo

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. American Trust boosted its stake in PepsiCo by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. American Trust now owns 31,117 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,732,000 after purchasing an additional 1,926 shares in the last quarter. Putney Financial Group LLC bought a new position in PepsiCo during the 4th quarter valued at $179,000. Aurdan Capital Management LLC bought a new position in PepsiCo during the 4th quarter valued at $455,000. PVG Asset Management Corp bought a new position in PepsiCo during the 4th quarter valued at $317,000. Finally, Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in PepsiCo during the 4th quarter valued at $78,000. 73.07% of the stock is owned by 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.