PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) Given "Neutral" Rating at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "neutral" rating restated by equities research analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. in a research note issued on Tuesday, MarketBeat reports. They currently have a $138.00 price target on the stock, down from their previous price target of $170.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 8.15% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on PEP. Piper Sandler set a $176.00 target price on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of PepsiCo from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a report on Thursday. Bank of America decreased their price objective on PepsiCo from $173.00 to $164.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 25th. UBS Group set a $159.00 price objective on PepsiCo in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein set a $134.00 target price on PepsiCo in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, PepsiCo currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $152.90.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PEP traded down $0.90 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $127.60. 633,541 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,907,041. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.91, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.74. The company's 50 day moving average price is $137.71 and its 200-day moving average price is $144.86. PepsiCo has a 52-week low of $126.42 and a 52-week high of $171.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $174.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.74, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.35.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 9th. The company reported $2.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $24.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.95 billion. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 54.63% and a net margin of 10.78%.The company's revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.92 EPS. PepsiCo has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.550-8.710 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that PepsiCo will post 8.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP David Flavell sold 2,900 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.54, for a total value of $404,666.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 74,825 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,441,080.50. This trade represents a 3.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of PepsiCo

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PEP. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its position in shares of PepsiCo by 10.5% in the second quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 127,986 shares of the company's stock worth $17,321,000 after buying an additional 12,193 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 60,406,932 shares of the company's stock worth $8,179,099,000 after buying an additional 987,582 shares in the last quarter. Security National Bank of Sioux City Iowa IA boosted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 24.4% in the 2nd quarter. Security National Bank of Sioux City Iowa IA now owns 11,448 shares of the company's stock worth $1,550,000 after acquiring an additional 2,248 shares in the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 3.6% in the 2nd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 23,781 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,220,000 after buying an additional 826 shares during the period. Finally, Bullseye Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in PepsiCo in the second quarter valued at about $114,000. 73.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Headlines Impacting PepsiCo

Here are the key news stories impacting PepsiCo this week:

• Positive Sentiment: PepsiCo plans to invest approximately $1 billion in Colombia over the next five years, supporting production expansion, agricultural partnerships and local growth. The investment could strengthen the company’s emerging-market presence over time. PepsiCo To Invest $1 Billion in Colombia Over Next Five Years
• Neutral Sentiment: PepsiCo is scheduled to report third-quarter results next month. Analysts anticipate only marginal bottom-line improvement, making the earnings report an important test of demand, pricing and cost-control initiatives. PepsiCo’s Quarterly Earnings Preview
• Neutral Sentiment: PepsiCo appointed Johnson & Johnson CEO Joaquin Duato to its board, adding experienced consumer-health and global-management expertise, although the near-term financial impact is limited. J&J CEO Duato Joins PepsiCo Board
• Negative Sentiment: JPMorgan downgraded PEP from Overweight to Neutral and cut its price target to $138 from $170. The firm cited weaker Frito-Lay trends and expects PepsiCo to rely more heavily on productivity savings in the fourth quarter to meet its earnings guidance. JPMorgan Downgrades PepsiCo to Neutral
• Negative Sentiment: The JPMorgan action follows Deutsche Bank’s downgrade from Buy to Hold, with its target reduced to $138 from $155. Deutsche Bank described PepsiCo’s turnaround as increasingly complicated, reinforcing concerns about slowing growth. Deutsche Bank Lowers PepsiCo Rating
• Negative Sentiment: Planned price increases for sodas, chips and dips are raising concerns that PepsiCo is moving away from affordability. Analysts worry higher prices could weaken consumer demand and further pressure Frito-Lay volumes. PepsiCo Plans to Raise Prices

About PepsiCo

PepsiCo, Inc NASDAQ: PEP is a global food and beverage company that develops, manufactures, markets and distributes a broad portfolio of snacks, drinks and convenient foods. Its beverage brands include Pepsi, Mountain Dew, Gatorade, 7UP in select markets, and bubly, while its food and snack brands include Lay's, Doritos, Cheetos, Tostitos, Fritos, Quaker and Ruffles.

The company's operations include beverage production and distribution, snack foods, convenient meals and nutrition-oriented products.