PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) Shares Down 0.1% After Analyst Downgrade

PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP - Get Free Report)'s stock price dropped 0.1% during mid-day trading on Tuesday after Barclays lowered their price target on the stock from $143.00 to $135.00. Barclays currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. PepsiCo traded as low as $131.52 and last traded at $133.68. Approximately 1,945,969 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 68% from the average daily volume of 6,146,326 shares. The stock had previously closed at $133.76.

PEP has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $155.00 to $150.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on PepsiCo from $184.00 to $178.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $163.00 price objective on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of PepsiCo from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their price target for the stock from $171.00 to $170.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target on PepsiCo from $175.00 to $169.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $160.69.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PepsiCo

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PEP. Huntleigh Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 3.3% during the first quarter. Huntleigh Advisors Inc. now owns 3,457 shares of the company's stock worth $518,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the 1st quarter valued at about $244,000. IFM Investors Pty Ltd increased its stake in PepsiCo by 9.4% in the 1st quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 277,359 shares of the company's stock worth $41,587,000 after purchasing an additional 23,758 shares during the period. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. raised its holdings in PepsiCo by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. now owns 264,721 shares of the company's stock valued at $39,692,000 after buying an additional 4,698 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Avantax Planning Partners Inc. grew its holdings in PepsiCo by 11.2% in the 1st quarter. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. now owns 53,689 shares of the company's stock worth $8,050,000 after acquiring an additional 5,397 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.07% of the company's stock.

PepsiCo Trading Down 0.3 %

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 firm's 50 day moving average price is $147.46 and its 200 day moving average price is $153.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $182.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.23, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.49.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.49 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $17.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $17.81 billion. PepsiCo had a net margin of 10.43% and a return on equity of 58.87%. PepsiCo's quarterly revenue was down 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.61 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a $1.355 dividend. This represents a $5.42 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.06%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. PepsiCo's payout ratio is currently 79.71%.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.