PepsiCo Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NASDAQ:PEP)

PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) saw some unusual options trading on Thursday. Stock investors purchased 33,914 put options on the stock. This is an increase of 59% compared to the typical daily volume of 21,389 put options.

Institutional Trading of PepsiCo

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PEP. State Street Corp increased its position in PepsiCo by 5.1% in 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 in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of PepsiCo by 1.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 30,497,268 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,170,529,000 after purchasing an additional 543,558 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in PepsiCo by 5.6% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 21,360,850 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,632,413,000 after buying an additional 1,125,059 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 7.2% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 13,547,547 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,234,400,000 after buying an additional 905,468 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in PepsiCo by 21.1% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 13,021,316 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,293,049,000 after purchasing an additional 2,264,445 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

PepsiCo Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PEP traded down $1.79 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $150.27. The company had a trading volume of 2,462,774 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,585,426. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $160.39 and its 200 day simple moving average is $167.49. PepsiCo has a one year low of $149.71 and a one year high of $183.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 0.89. The firm has a market cap of $206.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.16, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.52.

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

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be given a $1.355 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.61%. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 79.94%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on PEP. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of PepsiCo from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $185.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Barclays lowered their price target on PepsiCo from $186.00 to $183.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded PepsiCo to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Bank of America cut their target price on PepsiCo from $190.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of PepsiCo to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $184.31.

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.