PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) Shares Down 0.1% – Should You Sell?

Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) traded down 0.1% on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $141.60 and last traded at $143.26. 2,083,472 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 69% from the average session volume of 6,711,949 shares. The stock had previously closed at $143.39.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $158.00 to $153.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 6th. BNP Paribas cut their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $162.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Royal Bank of Canada assumed coverage on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. They set a $172.00 price objective on the stock. HSBC cut their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $186.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Piper Sandler initiated coverage on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $171.00 price target on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $171.47.

PepsiCo Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $197.63 billion, a PE ratio of 20.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.54. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $149.48 and its 200-day moving average price is $162.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $27.89 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.78 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.34 earnings per share for the current year.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $1.355 per share. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.76%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is currently 77.99%.

Institutional Trading of PepsiCo

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PEP. Pacific Point Advisors LLC acquired a new position in PepsiCo in the fourth quarter worth $2,503,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in PepsiCo by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 20,191 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,063,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the period. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC acquired a new position in PepsiCo in the fourth quarter worth $95,000. Breed s Hill Capital LLC boosted its holdings in PepsiCo by 43.4% in the fourth quarter. Breed s Hill Capital LLC now owns 1,944 shares of the company’s stock worth $296,000 after purchasing an additional 588 shares during the period. Finally, Navalign LLC acquired a new position in PepsiCo in the fourth quarter worth $237,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.