PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) Trading 0.2% Higher – Still a Buy?

PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) shot up 0.2% on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $153.15 and last traded at $152.06. 4,274,157 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 23% from the average session volume of 5,585,426 shares. The stock had previously closed at $151.72.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on PEP shares. Bank of America decreased their price target on PepsiCo from $190.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 30th. StockNews.com raised shares of PepsiCo from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of PepsiCo from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $185.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Friday, September 20th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of PepsiCo to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of PepsiCo from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $179.00 to $184.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $184.31.

PepsiCo Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $206.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $159.95 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $167.37.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 8th. The company reported $2.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.01. PepsiCo had a net margin of 10.18% and a return on equity of 57.32%. The business had revenue of $23.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.86 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.25 earnings per share. PepsiCo’s revenue for the quarter was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be paid a $1.355 dividend. This represents a $5.42 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 79.94%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates raised its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 145.3% during the fourth quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 390 shares of the company’s stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 231 shares during the period. SK Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in PepsiCo during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $384,000. Independent Solutions Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in PepsiCo by 27.2% in the third quarter. Independent Solutions Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,361 shares of the company’s stock worth $572,000 after acquiring an additional 719 shares in the last quarter. Brass Tax Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in PepsiCo by 8.7% in the third quarter. Brass Tax Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,660 shares of the company’s stock valued at $452,000 after acquiring an additional 212 shares during the period. Finally, Retirement Systems of Alabama raised its position in shares of PepsiCo by 22.1% during the third quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 657,482 shares of the company’s stock worth $111,805,000 after purchasing an additional 118,983 shares during the period. 73.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.