Wells Fargo & Company Lowers PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) Price Target to $155.00

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP - Free Report) had its price target reduced by Wells Fargo & Company from $170.00 to $155.00 in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the stock.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on PEP. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $185.00 to $183.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of PepsiCo from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $185.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Friday, September 20th. StockNews.com raised shares of PepsiCo from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of PepsiCo from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $179.00 to $184.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised shares of PepsiCo to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, PepsiCo presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $182.29.

PepsiCo Price Performance

PEP traded down $0.87 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $145.40. 7,469,200 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,755,057. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $199.49 billion, a PE ratio of 21.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.54. The business's 50-day moving average price is $159.04 and its 200 day moving average price is $167.12. PepsiCo has a 1-year low of $145.34 and a 1-year high of $183.41.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 8th. The company reported $2.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.01. PepsiCo had a net margin of 10.18% and a return on equity of 57.32%. The firm had revenue of $23.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.86 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.25 earnings per share. PepsiCo's revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that PepsiCo will post 8.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 6th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th were issued a dividend of $1.355 per share. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.73%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. PepsiCo's payout ratio is 79.94%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PepsiCo

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC lifted its position in shares of PepsiCo by 8,835.5% in the 2nd quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 116,608 shares of the company's stock worth $192,000 after buying an additional 115,303 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of PepsiCo by 44.8% in the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 6,665 shares of the company's stock worth $1,099,000 after buying an additional 2,063 shares during the last quarter. Lane & Associates LLC lifted its position in shares of PepsiCo by 8.0% in the 2nd quarter. Lane & Associates LLC now owns 2,475 shares of the company's stock worth $408,000 after buying an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC lifted its position in shares of PepsiCo by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 23,053 shares of the company's stock worth $3,802,000 after buying an additional 203 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Insight Inv LLC lifted its position in shares of PepsiCo by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter. Insight Inv LLC now owns 13,150 shares of the company's stock worth $2,169,000 after buying an additional 425 shares during the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.