PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) Shares Down 2.4%

PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP - Get Free Report)'s stock price was down 2.4% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $170.14 and last traded at $172.20. Approximately 3,411,047 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 40% from the average daily volume of 5,720,075 shares. The stock had previously closed at $176.46.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on PEP shares. Morgan Stanley raised PepsiCo from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $190.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, March 18th. StockNews.com downgraded PepsiCo from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Argus cut PepsiCo from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Citigroup upgraded PepsiCo from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the company from $180.00 to $195.00 in a report on Monday, February 12th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on PepsiCo from $183.00 to $184.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, PepsiCo has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $186.92.

PepsiCo Stock Down 3.0 %

The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $168.80 and a 200-day moving average price of $167.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02. The firm has a market cap of $235.34 billion, a PE ratio of 26.21, a PEG ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.53.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 9th. The company reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.72 by $0.06. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 58.03% and a net margin of 9.92%. The business had revenue of $27.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $28.40 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.67 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st were given a dividend of $1.265 per share. This represents a $5.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. PepsiCo's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.02%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PepsiCo

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PEP. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA increased its position in PepsiCo by 80.5% during the fourth quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 157 shares of the company's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the period. Fortis Group Advisors LLC increased its position in PepsiCo by 100.0% during the fourth quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC now owns 194 shares of the company's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the period. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. acquired a new position in PepsiCo during the first quarter worth approximately $35,000. Life Planning Partners Inc acquired a new position in PepsiCo during the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Naples Money Management LLC acquired a new position in PepsiCo during the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.