PepsiCo Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NASDAQ:PEP)

PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Investors acquired 33,914 put options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 59% compared to the typical daily volume of 21,389 put options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on PEP shares. Hsbc Global Res upgraded PepsiCo to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of PepsiCo to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Morgan Stanley cut shares of PepsiCo from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $185.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $177.00 to $176.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $186.00 to $183.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $184.31.

Institutional Trading of PepsiCo

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Opes Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of PepsiCo by 2.2% in the second quarter. Opes Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,748 shares of the company’s stock valued at $453,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates grew its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 59.0% in the 3rd quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 159 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the period. Oxbow Advisors LLC raised its stake in PepsiCo by 0.7% during the second quarter. Oxbow Advisors LLC now owns 8,982 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,481,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Cross Staff Investments Inc lifted its holdings in PepsiCo by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Cross Staff Investments Inc now owns 7,080 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,204,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Paulson Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Paulson Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,986 shares of the company’s stock worth $508,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

Shares of PEP opened at $150.21 on Friday. PepsiCo has a one year low of $149.71 and a one year high of $183.41. The business has a fifty day moving average of $159.95 and a 200 day moving average of $167.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $206.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.15, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.52.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 8th. The company reported $2.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $23.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $23.86 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.25 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that PepsiCo will post 8.15 EPS for the current year.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

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

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.