PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) Trading Up 0.2%

PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)’s stock price was up 0.2% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $179.24 and last traded at $178.88. Approximately 887,634 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 84% from the average daily volume of 5,440,040 shares. The stock had previously closed at $178.52.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com upgraded PepsiCo from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. TD Cowen lowered their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $200.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $184.00 to $182.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 12th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $179.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $185.53.

PepsiCo Stock Down 0.3 %

The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $170.96 and a 200 day simple moving average of $171.13. The company has a market capitalization of $243.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.74, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.64.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 11th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $22.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.59 billion. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 57.37% and a net margin of 10.34%. PepsiCo’s revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.09 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be given a $1.355 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 6th. This represents a $5.42 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.06%. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is presently 78.66%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PEP. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the fourth quarter worth about $2,686,139,000. Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in PepsiCo by 7.2% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 13,547,547 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,234,400,000 after acquiring an additional 905,468 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in shares of PepsiCo by 7.4% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 10,147,530 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,673,632,000 after purchasing an additional 700,092 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 17.7% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,954,951 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,520,909,000 after purchasing an additional 1,345,065 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 8.2% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,403,398 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,221,089,000 after purchasing an additional 561,465 shares in the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.