PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) Lowered to “Hold” at StockNews.com

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) was downgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on PEP. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on PepsiCo in a research note on Monday, June 24th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $174.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley downgraded 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. Bank of America cut their target price on PepsiCo from $210.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 8th. DZ Bank lowered shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $183.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $185.53.

PepsiCo Stock Down 2.0 %

NASDAQ:PEP traded down $3.48 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $171.18. The stock had a trading volume of 12,136,152 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,782,371. 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 has a market capitalization of $235.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.53. PepsiCo has a 1-year low of $155.83 and a 1-year high of $183.41. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $173.51 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $171.74.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 11th. The company reported $2.28 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $22.50 billion during 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 revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.09 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that PepsiCo will post 8.15 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Strategy Asset Managers LLC raised its position in shares of PepsiCo by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Strategy Asset Managers LLC now owns 6,632 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,161,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Meixler Investment Management Ltd. increased its holdings in PepsiCo by 4.4% in the second quarter. Meixler Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,383 shares of the company’s stock valued at $228,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Opes Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in 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 buying an additional 59 shares during the period. Bank of Stockton boosted its holdings in PepsiCo by 2.3% during the second quarter. Bank of Stockton now owns 2,716 shares of the company’s stock worth $448,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oxbow Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Oxbow Advisors LLC now owns 8,982 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,481,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. 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.