PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) Shares Down 1.2% - Time to Sell?

PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP - Get Free Report)'s share price fell 1.2% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $129.80 and last traded at $130.23. 2,415,702 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 63% from the average session volume of 6,608,876 shares. The stock had previously closed at $131.83.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on PEP. Jefferies Financial Group cut PepsiCo from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $171.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Bank of America dropped their target price on PepsiCo from $155.00 to $150.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. Barclays cut their price objective on PepsiCo from $143.00 to $135.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Evercore ISI set a $140.00 price objective on PepsiCo in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price objective on PepsiCo from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $160.69.

PepsiCo Stock Down 1.1%

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 stock has a market cap of $179.41 billion, a PE ratio of 18.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.45. The business has a fifty day moving average of $134.63 and a 200-day moving average of $145.08.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $17.92 billion during 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%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.61 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be issued a dividend of $1.4225 per share. This represents a $5.69 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. This is a positive change from PepsiCo's previous quarterly dividend of $1.36. PepsiCo's dividend payout ratio is currently 83.68%.

Institutional Trading of PepsiCo

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Nova Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of PepsiCo during the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Elite Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.