PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) Stock Price Up 1.4% - Should You Buy?

PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP - Get Free Report) traded up 1.4% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $136.43 and last traded at $136.37. 1,935,094 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 73% from the average session volume of 7,060,948 shares. The stock had previously closed at $134.48.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on PEP. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and issued a $148.00 target price on shares of PepsiCo in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $150.00 to $139.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Finally, UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $175.00 to $169.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $158.19.

PepsiCo Price Performance

The stock's 50-day moving average is $131.49 and its 200 day moving average is $141.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $185.45 billion, a PE ratio of 19.89, a P/E/G ratio of 4.23 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.13.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.48 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $17.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $17.81 billion. PepsiCo had a net margin of 10.24% and a return on equity of 58.28%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.61 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

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

Institutional Trading of PepsiCo

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in PepsiCo by 1.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 135,174,252 shares of the company's stock valued at $20,268,027,000 after acquiring an additional 1,802,748 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in PepsiCo by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 31,079,522 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,717,069,000 after acquiring an additional 582,254 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in PepsiCo by 5.0% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 26,475,241 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,969,698,000 after acquiring an additional 1,258,198 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in PepsiCo in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,729,565,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 8.7% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 16,403,395 shares of the company's stock worth $2,494,300,000 after buying an additional 1,306,818 shares during the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.