PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) Shares Down 0.5% – Here’s Why

PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)’s stock price was down 0.5% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $152.53 and last traded at $153.08. Approximately 1,399,857 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 80% from the average daily volume of 7,075,875 shares. The stock had previously closed at $153.88.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PEP has been the subject of a number of research reports. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on PepsiCo from $180.00 to $160.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on PepsiCo from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on PepsiCo from $183.00 to $165.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Piper Sandler began coverage on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $171.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $185.00 to $168.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $172.35.

PepsiCo Price Performance

The company’s fifty day moving average price is $148.80 and its 200 day moving average price is $160.96. The company has a market capitalization of $211.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.22, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $27.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $27.89 billion. PepsiCo had a net margin of 10.43% and a return on equity of 58.87%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.78 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 EPS for the current year.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.51%. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is presently 77.99%.

Institutional Trading of PepsiCo

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PEP. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Collier Financial acquired a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the third quarter worth $31,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 93.2% during the third quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 199 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. Finally, Creative Capital Management Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

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.