PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) Trading Up 0.1% - Time to Buy?

PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP - Get Free Report)'s share price was up 0.1% during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $131.65 and last traded at $131.51. Approximately 1,340,855 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 79% from the average daily volume of 6,252,397 shares. The stock had previously closed at $131.43.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PEP has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $184.00 to $178.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Citigroup decreased their price target on PepsiCo from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $143.00 to $135.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 28th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $175.00 to $169.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on PepsiCo from $158.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. One 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. According to data from MarketBeat, PepsiCo has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $160.69.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average price of $144.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $151.34. The company has a market capitalization of $179.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.81, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.47. 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 issued its 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 business had revenue of $17.92 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.81 billion. PepsiCo had a net margin of 10.43% and a return on equity of 58.87%. The company's revenue was down 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.61 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be given a dividend of $1.4225 per share. 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 4.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. PepsiCo's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 83.68%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PepsiCo

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 133,371,504 shares of the company's stock worth $20,280,471,000 after acquiring an additional 1,376,133 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in PepsiCo by 1.9% during the 4th 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 period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of PepsiCo by 18.1% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 25,217,043 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,834,504,000 after purchasing an additional 3,856,193 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the 4th quarter worth $2,729,565,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in PepsiCo by 8.7% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 16,403,395 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,494,300,000 after purchasing an additional 1,306,818 shares in the last quarter. 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.

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