PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) Shares Up 3.2% – Still a Buy?

PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)’s stock price rose 3.2% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $159.69 and last traded at $159.33. Approximately 2,300,312 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 58% from the average daily volume of 5,437,056 shares. The stock had previously closed at $154.44.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on PEP shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on PepsiCo from $185.00 to $168.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Barclays boosted their price objective on PepsiCo from $153.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. BNP Paribas reduced their target price 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. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $183.00 to $160.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. One 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. According to MarketBeat.com, PepsiCo has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $172.35.

PepsiCo Stock Up 1.2 %

The company has a market capitalization of $214.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.48, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.52. 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 firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $148.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $160.76.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $27.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $27.89 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.78 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.47%. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.99%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PepsiCo

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in PepsiCo by 9.2% during the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 99,785 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,968,000 after buying an additional 8,406 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in shares of PepsiCo by 104.2% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,705,574 shares of the company’s stock valued at $259,350,000 after acquiring an additional 870,451 shares during the period. Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV grew its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 12.8% in the 4th quarter. Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 41,580 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,323,000 after acquiring an additional 4,712 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake in PepsiCo by 11.0% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 350,225 shares of the company’s stock valued at $59,549,000 after purchasing an additional 34,633 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IHT Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in PepsiCo by 19.3% during the third quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 32,267 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,493,000 after purchasing an additional 5,220 shares during the last quarter. 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.