PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) Trading Up 0.5% – Should You Buy?

PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)’s share price rose 0.5% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $144.89 and last traded at $144.67. Approximately 1,515,179 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 77% from the average daily volume of 6,733,933 shares. The stock had previously closed at $143.99.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. HSBC lowered their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $186.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. StockNews.com lowered PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased 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. BNP Paribas decreased their price objective on PepsiCo from $162.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. 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 research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $171.47.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05. The stock has a market cap of $196.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.63, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.54. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $149.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $163.20.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.02. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 58.87% and a net margin of 10.43%. The firm had revenue of $27.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $27.89 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.78 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given 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 yield of 3.78%. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is currently 77.99%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PepsiCo

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of PEP. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,729,565,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in PepsiCo in the fourth quarter worth $589,307,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in PepsiCo by 18.1% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 25,217,043 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,834,504,000 after acquiring an additional 3,856,193 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position 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 worth $547,626,000 after acquiring an additional 3,201,676 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 57,268,030 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,738,429,000 after purchasing an additional 2,775,679 shares in 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.