PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) Stock Jumps 2.2% - Here's What Happened

PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP - Get Free Report) was up 2.2% on Friday. The company traded as high as $145.78 and last traded at $145.44. 7,832,708 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 5% from the average daily volume of 8,265,915 shares. The stock had previously closed at $142.26.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on PEP. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of PepsiCo in a research report on Friday, October 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Friday. Deutsche Bank reiterated a "hold" rating and issued a $132.00 price target on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Friday, October 9th. BNP Paribas Exane dropped their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $161.00 to $157.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 9th. Finally, Evercore cut their price objective on PepsiCo from $150.00 to $135.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $143.28.

PepsiCo Stock Up 2.2%

The business has a 50-day moving average price of $133.53 and a 200 day moving average price of $145.70. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $198.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.27, a P/E/G ratio of 4.28 and a beta of 0.31.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 7th. The company reported $2.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.29 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $25.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $24.95 billion. PepsiCo had a net margin of 11.09% and a return on equity of 53.08%. PepsiCo's quarterly revenue was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.29 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other PepsiCo news, Director Robert Pohlad bought 184,646 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 14th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $128.28 per share, for a total transaction of $23,686,388.88. Following the transaction, the director owned 433,009 shares of the company's stock, valued at $55,546,394.52. This represents a 74.35% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Ramon Laguarta sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.13, for a total transaction of $4,053,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 491,645 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $66,435,988.85. The trade was a 5.75% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PepsiCo

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PEP. Evergreen Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Montgomery Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in PepsiCo during the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Next Level Wealth Planning LLC bought a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Atlatl Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Osterweis Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.07% of the company's stock.

About PepsiCo

PepsiCo, Inc. is a global food and beverage company that develops, manufactures, markets and distributes a broad range of products. Its portfolio includes snacks such as Lay's, Doritos and Cheetos, as well as beverages including Pepsi, Gatorade and Mountain Dew. The company was formed in 1965 through the merger of Pepsi-Cola and Frito-Lay. Its products are sold in more than 200 countries and territories through retail, food-service and other distribution channels. PepsiCo is headquartered in Purchase, New York.

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