PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) Shares Up 0.6%

PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)’s stock price rose 0.6% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $170.81 and last traded at $170.41. Approximately 1,239,276 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 77% from the average daily volume of 5,458,163 shares. The stock had previously closed at $169.40.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on PEP shares. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $180.00 to $177.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of PepsiCo from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $185.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Friday, September 20th. DZ Bank downgraded PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $183.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on PepsiCo from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Bank of America cut their price objective on PepsiCo from $210.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $185.53.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $233.03 billion, a PE ratio of 24.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.64. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $173.77 and its 200 day simple moving average is $171.96.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 11th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $22.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.59 billion. PepsiCo had a net margin of 10.34% and a return on equity of 57.37%. PepsiCo’s revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.09 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be paid a $1.355 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 6th. This represents a $5.42 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.19%. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is currently 78.66%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PepsiCo

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Flossbach Von Storch AG raised its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 67.2% in the 1st quarter. Flossbach Von Storch AG now owns 4,560,007 shares of the company’s stock valued at $798,047,000 after acquiring an additional 1,832,385 shares in the last quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in PepsiCo by 125.2% in the second quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,740,573 shares of the company’s stock valued at $452,003,000 after purchasing an additional 1,523,631 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in PepsiCo by 429.3% during the first quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,454,793 shares of the company’s stock valued at $254,603,000 after purchasing an additional 1,179,922 shares during the last quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in PepsiCo in the 1st quarter worth approximately $166,243,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc increased its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 7.2% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 13,547,547 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,234,400,000 after buying an additional 905,468 shares during 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.