PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) Trading Down 0.4% on Analyst Downgrade

PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) shares were down 0.4% during trading on Friday after Barclays lowered their price target on the stock from $187.00 to $186.00. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the stock. PepsiCo traded as low as $166.82 and last traded at $167.83. Approximately 1,032,030 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 81% from the average daily volume of 5,475,297 shares. The stock had previously closed at $168.53.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on PEP. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $180.00 to $177.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 12th. 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on PepsiCo from $182.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. DZ Bank cut PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $183.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on PepsiCo from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, PepsiCo currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $185.36.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 77.5% during the 1st quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 158 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates grew its position in PepsiCo by 59.0% during the third quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 159 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the period. POM Investment Strategies LLC lifted its position in shares of PepsiCo by 141.3% during the 2nd quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 181 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the period. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PepsiCo during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Fortis Group Advisors LLC increased its stake in PepsiCo by 100.0% in the 4th quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC now owns 194 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $230.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.36, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.53. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $173.90 and a 200-day moving average of $172.13.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 11th. The company reported $2.28 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $22.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.59 billion. PepsiCo had a net margin of 10.34% and a return on equity of 57.37%. The firm’s revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.09 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.14 EPS for the current year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 6th were paid a $1.355 dividend. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 6th. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is currently 78.66%.

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.