PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) Shares Down 0.1% – What’s Next?

PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) shares traded down 0.1% on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $138.33 and last traded at $140.14. 2,210,648 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 63% from the average session volume of 5,988,334 shares. The stock had previously closed at $140.30.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on PEP. HSBC lowered their price target on PepsiCo from $186.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. StockNews.com cut PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Citigroup cut their price target on PepsiCo from $195.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $185.00 to $168.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $180.00 to $160.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $169.88.

PepsiCo Stock Up 0.2 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $198.06 billion, a PE ratio of 20.78, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $148.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $155.95.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last posted 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. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 58.87% and a net margin of 10.43%. The company had revenue of $27.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $27.89 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.78 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a dividend of $1.355 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.42 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.75%. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is 77.99%.

Institutional Trading of PepsiCo

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PEP. Howard Capital Management Group LLC boosted its position in shares of PepsiCo by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 4,568 shares of the company’s stock valued at $777,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc bought a new position in PepsiCo during the third quarter valued at $996,000. Fortem Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter. Fortem Financial Group LLC now owns 1,917 shares of the company’s stock worth $326,000 after buying an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of PepsiCo by 16.2% during the 3rd quarter. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,831 shares of the company’s stock valued at $992,000 after buying an additional 814 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invst LLC lifted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Invst LLC now owns 3,003 shares of the company’s stock valued at $511,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

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.