PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) Trading Up 0.4% – Here’s Why

PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) shot up 0.4% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $145.93 and last traded at $145.05. 1,155,173 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 81% from the average session volume of 6,069,661 shares. The stock had previously closed at $144.43.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on PEP. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on PepsiCo from $183.00 to $165.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. CICC Research reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Piper Sandler started coverage on shares of PepsiCo in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $171.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Barclays cut shares of PepsiCo from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $168.00 to $156.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, PepsiCo currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $169.88.

PepsiCo Trading Up 1.6 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The business has a fifty day moving average of $148.37 and a 200-day moving average of $155.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $201.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.49.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $27.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $27.89 billion. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 58.87% and a net margin of 10.43%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.78 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were given a $1.355 dividend. This represents a $5.42 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 77.99%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PepsiCo

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PEP. Howard Capital Management Group LLC raised its position in PepsiCo by 2.0% during the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 4,568 shares of the company’s stock valued at $777,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the period. Morse Asset Management Inc acquired a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the 3rd quarter valued at about $996,000. Invst LLC lifted its position in shares of PepsiCo by 4.6% in the third quarter. Invst LLC now owns 3,003 shares of the company’s stock worth $511,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PepsiCo during the third quarter worth approximately $1,611,000. Finally, Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd grew its position in PepsiCo by 3.4% during the third quarter. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd now owns 16,624 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,811,000 after purchasing an additional 550 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

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.