PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) Stock Price Up 2.2% - What's Next?

Key Points

• PepsiCo shares rose 2.2% to $140.42 in midday trading, with volume about 11% above the average daily level.
• Analysts remain cautious: PepsiCo has a consensus “Hold” rating and a $143.28 average price target after several firms recently lowered their targets.
• The company beat quarterly expectations, reporting $2.34 EPS and $25.27 billion in revenue, while revenue increased 5.6% year over year. Director Robert Pohlad made a sizable stock purchase, partially offset by CEO Ramon Laguarta’s share sale.

PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP - Get Free Report) was up 2.2% on Monday. The stock traded as high as $140.66 and last traded at $140.42. Approximately 9,109,457 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 11% from the average daily volume of 8,203,774 shares. The stock had previously closed at $137.34.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PEP has been the topic of several analyst reports. BNP Paribas Exane dropped their target price on PepsiCo from $161.00 to $157.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on PepsiCo from $140.00 to $135.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Evercore dropped their price objective on PepsiCo from $150.00 to $135.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on PepsiCo from $161.00 to $150.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of PepsiCo from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $143.28.

PepsiCo Stock Up 2.2%

The firm has a market cap of $191.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.64, a P/E/G ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.35. The firm's fifty day moving average is $133.49 and its 200 day moving average is $145.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.94.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 7th. The company reported $2.34 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.29 by $0.05. PepsiCo had a net margin of 11.09% and a return on equity of 53.08%. The firm had revenue of $25.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $24.95 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.29 EPS. The business's revenue was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other PepsiCo news, Director Robert Pohlad bought 184,646 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 14th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $128.28 per share, with a total value of $23,686,388.88. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 433,009 shares of the company's stock, valued at $55,546,394.52. This trade represents a 74.35% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Ramon Laguarta sold 30,000 shares of PepsiCo stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.13, for a total value 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 $66,435,988.85. This represents a 5.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PepsiCo

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Evergreen Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the first quarter worth about $25,000. Montgomery Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of PepsiCo during the second quarter worth $25,000. Next Level Wealth Planning LLC acquired a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the third quarter worth $26,000. Atlatl Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the second quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Osterweis Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. 73.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About PepsiCo

PepsiCo, Inc NASDAQ: PEP is a global food and beverage company whose portfolio includes Pepsi-Cola, Mountain Dew, Gatorade, Lay's, Doritos, Cheetos, Quaker, Tostitos, Fritos, and SodaStream. Its products span carbonated soft drinks, sports and energy beverages, bottled water, juices, convenient foods, snacks, and other packaged food offerings.

The company sells products through retail stores, restaurants, food-service providers, e-commerce platforms, and other distribution channels. PepsiCo serves consumers in North America and international markets across Latin America, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia-Pacific.

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