PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) Shares Up 1.7% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) traded up 1.7% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $148.21 and last traded at $148.28. 1,384,745 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 79% from the average session volume of 6,722,384 shares. The stock had previously closed at $145.81.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on PEP shares. StockNews.com cut PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on PepsiCo from $183.00 to $165.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $184.00 to $178.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. 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 research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price 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 equities 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $171.47.

PepsiCo Stock Up 2.0 %

The business’s 50-day moving average is $148.94 and its 200-day moving average is $162.49. The company has a market capitalization of $203.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.54. 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 issued its 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. The firm had revenue of $27.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $27.89 billion. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 58.87% and a net margin of 10.43%. The company’s revenue was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.78 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.34 earnings per share for the current year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $1.355 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.42 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.64%. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.99%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PepsiCo

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in PepsiCo by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 133,371,504 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,280,471,000 after purchasing an additional 1,376,133 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 5.1% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 57,268,030 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,738,429,000 after buying an additional 2,775,679 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of PepsiCo by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 31,079,522 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,717,069,000 after buying an additional 582,254 shares during the last quarter. 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 worth $3,834,504,000 after acquiring an additional 3,856,193 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,729,565,000. 73.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.