PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) Shares Down 0.4%

PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP - Get Free Report)'s stock price was down 0.4% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $173.66 and last traded at $175.27. Approximately 1,066,546 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 81% from the average daily volume of 5,748,646 shares. The stock had previously closed at $175.91.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on PEP shares. StockNews.com downgraded PepsiCo from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on PepsiCo from $181.00 to $184.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Citigroup raised PepsiCo from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $180.00 to $195.00 in a research report on Monday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on PepsiCo from $178.00 to $181.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Argus downgraded PepsiCo from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, PepsiCo has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $187.42.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96. The company has a 50 day moving average of $169.87 and a 200 day moving average of $168.21. The firm has a market cap of $240.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.34, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.53.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.61 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.09. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 57.37% and a net margin of 10.00%. The business had revenue of $18.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $18.08 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.50 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th will be issued a $1.355 dividend. This is a positive change from PepsiCo's previous quarterly dividend of $1.27. This represents a $5.42 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.09%. PepsiCo's payout ratio is currently 76.09%.

Institutional Trading of PepsiCo

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA boosted its position in PepsiCo by 80.5% during the 4th quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 157 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 77.5% during the first quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 158 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the period. Fortis Group Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Life Planning Partners Inc bought a new stake in PepsiCo in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. acquired a new position in PepsiCo during the 1st quarter valued at about $35,000. 73.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.