Morgan Stanley Cuts PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) Price Target to $168.00

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) had its price target cut by Morgan Stanley from $185.00 to $168.00 in a report issued on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the stock.

PEP has been the subject of a number of other reports. Piper Sandler started coverage on PepsiCo in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $171.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $170.00 to $155.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. HSBC reduced their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $186.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $180.00 to $160.00 in a report on Tuesday. Finally, BNP Paribas decreased their price target on PepsiCo from $162.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $171.76.

PepsiCo Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ PEP opened at $145.66 on Wednesday. PepsiCo has a 1 year low of $141.51 and a 1 year high of $183.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.70. The firm has a market cap of $199.84 billion, a PE ratio of 21.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $152.49 and a 200 day simple moving average of $164.53.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $27.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $27.89 billion. PepsiCo had a net margin of 10.18% and a return on equity of 57.32%. PepsiCo’s revenue was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.78 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that PepsiCo will post 8.15 EPS for the current year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The firm 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 3.72%. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 79.94%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in PepsiCo by 244.7% during the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 16,278 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,475,000 after purchasing an additional 11,555 shares during the last quarter. Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC lifted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC now owns 114,381 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,393,000 after purchasing an additional 5,278 shares in the last quarter. Norden Group LLC grew its holdings in PepsiCo by 9.5% during the fourth quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 20,768 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,158,000 after buying an additional 1,805 shares in the last quarter. Hickory Point Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in PepsiCo in the 4th quarter valued at $452,000. Finally, Purkiss Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in PepsiCo during the 4th quarter valued at $305,000. 73.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.