PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) Shares Down 1.6%

Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) fell 1.6% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $168.55 and last traded at $168.72. 925,191 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 83% from the average session volume of 5,475,127 shares. The stock had previously closed at $171.38.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on PEP shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on PepsiCo from $182.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Barclays upped their target price on PepsiCo from $179.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $180.00 to $177.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 12th. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of PepsiCo from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $185.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $185.40.

PepsiCo Stock Down 1.4 %

The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $173.92 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $172.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.83. The firm has a market cap of $232.31 billion, a PE ratio of 24.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.53.

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

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 6th were given a dividend of $1.355 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 6th. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.21%. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is 78.66%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PepsiCo

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Edge Capital Group LLC raised its position in PepsiCo by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Edge Capital Group LLC now owns 9,839 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,671,000 after acquiring an additional 373 shares in the last quarter. Fairview Capital Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Fairview Capital Investment Management LLC now owns 3,387 shares of the company’s stock valued at $575,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 106.7% in the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 216,291 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,735,000 after purchasing an additional 111,675 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. grew its position in PepsiCo by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 93,556 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,890,000 after buying an additional 2,141 shares during the period. Finally, Morningstar Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of PepsiCo by 182.0% during the 4th quarter. Morningstar Investment Management LLC now owns 8,952 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,520,000 after acquiring an additional 5,778 shares during the period. 73.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.