PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) Shares Up 0.6% – Here’s Why

PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)’s share price was up 0.6% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $145.48 and last traded at $144.96. Approximately 1,092,136 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 84% from the average daily volume of 6,743,081 shares. The stock had previously closed at $144.10.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on PEP shares. Barclays dropped their target price on PepsiCo from $158.00 to $153.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $183.00 to $160.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. StockNews.com cut shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada assumed coverage on PepsiCo in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. They set a $172.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on PepsiCo from $184.00 to $178.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $171.47.

PepsiCo Stock Up 3.0 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $210.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.09, a PEG ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $148.75 and a 200-day moving average of $162.39.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.02. PepsiCo had a net margin of 10.43% and a return on equity of 58.87%. The business had revenue of $27.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $27.89 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.78 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.31 EPS for the current year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $1.355 dividend. This represents a $5.42 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.53%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.99%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PepsiCo

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in PepsiCo in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,729,565,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the fourth quarter worth $589,307,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in PepsiCo by 18.1% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 25,217,043 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,834,504,000 after purchasing an additional 3,856,193 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in PepsiCo by 17,113.0% in the third 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. Finally, 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 worth $9,738,429,000 after purchasing an additional 2,775,679 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.