JPMorgan Chase & Co. Cuts PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) Price Target to $139.00

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP - Free Report) had its price objective trimmed by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $150.00 to $139.00 in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a neutral rating on the stock.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on PEP. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $168.00 to $153.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $155.00 to $150.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $143.00 to $135.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $148.00 price target on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, Evercore ISI set a $140.00 target price on shares of PepsiCo in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $158.19.

PepsiCo Price Performance

PEP traded down $0.82 on Thursday, hitting $135.26. 7,958,581 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,078,854. PepsiCo has a 12 month low of $127.60 and a 12 month high of $180.91. The business has a 50-day moving average of $131.49 and a two-hundred day moving average of $141.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.13, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $185.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.89, a PEG ratio of 4.23 and a beta of 0.45.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.49 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $17.92 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.81 billion. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 58.28% and a net margin of 10.24%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.61 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that PepsiCo will post 8.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th were given a $1.4225 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 6th. This represents a $5.69 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.21%. This is an increase from PepsiCo's previous quarterly dividend of $1.36. PepsiCo's payout ratio is 83.68%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Nova Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in PepsiCo during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Elite Financial Inc. purchased a new position in PepsiCo during the 1st quarter worth $28,000. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in PepsiCo during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. purchased a new position in PepsiCo during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. 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.