PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) Trading Down 2.6% – Time to Sell?

PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) shares were down 2.6% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $142.38 and last traded at $142.68. Approximately 2,397,873 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 60% from the average daily volume of 5,989,229 shares. The stock had previously closed at $146.54.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on PEP shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $170.00 to $155.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded PepsiCo from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $179.00 to $184.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley downgraded PepsiCo from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $185.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of PepsiCo to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $186.00 to $183.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $180.64.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $194.90 billion, a PE ratio of 20.95, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.54. 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 50 day moving average of $157.81 and a two-hundred day moving average of $166.68.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 8th. The company reported $2.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $23.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.86 billion. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 57.32% and a net margin of 10.18%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.25 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th were given a dividend of $1.355 per share. This represents a $5.42 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is currently 79.94%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in PepsiCo by 17,113.0% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,220,385 shares of the company’s stock valued at $547,626,000 after purchasing an additional 3,201,676 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 5.1% in the third 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. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in PepsiCo by 21.1% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 13,021,316 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,293,049,000 after acquiring an additional 2,264,445 shares during the period. Swedbank AB lifted its holdings in PepsiCo by 211.4% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 2,345,467 shares of the company’s stock valued at $398,847,000 after acquiring an additional 1,592,343 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of PepsiCo by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 21,360,850 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,632,413,000 after purchasing an additional 1,125,059 shares in the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.