PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) Trading Up 1.7% - Should You Buy?

PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP - Get Free Report) shot up 1.7% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $148.21 and last traded at $148.28. 1,384,745 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 79% from the average session volume of 6,722,384 shares. The stock had previously closed at $145.81.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on PEP. Piper Sandler began coverage on shares of PepsiCo in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $171.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $195.00 to $170.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $184.00 to $178.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $183.00 to $165.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $185.00 to $168.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $171.47.

PepsiCo Price Performance

The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $148.66 and its 200 day simple moving average is $162.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $210.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.09, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.82.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.02. PepsiCo had a net margin of 10.43% and a return on equity of 58.87%. The firm had revenue of $27.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $27.89 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.78 EPS. The company's revenue was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a $1.355 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.42 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.53%. PepsiCo's payout ratio is presently 77.99%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PepsiCo

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PEP. AMF Tjanstepension AB lifted its position in PepsiCo by 15.8% during the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 293,824 shares of the company's stock valued at $50,016,000 after acquiring an additional 40,031 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB lifted its position in PepsiCo by 211.4% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 2,345,467 shares of the company's stock valued at $398,847,000 after acquiring an additional 1,592,343 shares during the last quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC lifted its position in PepsiCo by 2.0% during the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 4,568 shares of the company's stock valued at $777,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. purchased a new stake in PepsiCo during the third quarter valued at approximately $215,000. Finally, West Wealth Group LLC purchased a new stake in PepsiCo during the third quarter valued at approximately $204,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.07% of the company's stock.

PepsiCo Company Profile

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.