PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) Stock Price Down 2.9% – Should You Sell?

Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) fell 2.9% on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $146.51 and last traded at $147.86. 2,308,189 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 68% from the average session volume of 7,266,076 shares. The stock had previously closed at $152.33.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on PEP. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on PepsiCo from $184.00 to $178.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. CICC Research restated a “market perform” rating on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Friday, February 7th. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $180.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. TD Cowen decreased their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $183.00 to $160.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on PepsiCo from $185.00 to $168.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $170.59.

PepsiCo Stock Down 2.3 %

The company has a market cap of $204.20 billion, a PE ratio of 21.42, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05. The company’s fifty day moving average is $148.90 and its 200-day moving average is $160.46.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $27.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $27.89 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.78 earnings per share. PepsiCo’s revenue was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 EPS for the current year.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $1.355 dividend. This represents a $5.42 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.64%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.99%.

Institutional Trading of PepsiCo

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in PepsiCo by 9.2% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 99,785 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,968,000 after purchasing an additional 8,406 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 104.2% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,705,574 shares of the company’s stock worth $259,350,000 after buying an additional 870,451 shares during the period. Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV lifted its position in shares of PepsiCo by 12.8% during the 4th quarter. Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 41,580 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,323,000 after buying an additional 4,712 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings in PepsiCo by 11.0% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 350,225 shares of the company’s stock worth $59,549,000 after acquiring an additional 34,633 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IHT Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 5,220 shares during the period. 73.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.