PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) Stock Price Down 0.4%

PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) shares were down 0.4% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $173.66 and last traded at $175.27. Approximately 1,066,546 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 81% from the average daily volume of 5,748,646 shares. The stock had previously closed at $175.91.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on PEP shares. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on PepsiCo from $199.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on PepsiCo from $181.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $180.00 price objective on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Monday, February 12th. Barclays lifted their price objective on PepsiCo from $184.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Argus downgraded PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, PepsiCo currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $187.42.

PepsiCo Stock Down 0.3 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $241.08 billion, a PE ratio of 26.33, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $169.74 and a 200-day moving average price of $168.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 0.86.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $18.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.08 billion. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 57.37% and a net margin of 10.00%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.50 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.16 earnings per share for the current year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be given a dividend of $1.355 per share. This represents a $5.42 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.09%. This is an increase from PepsiCo’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.27. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is currently 76.09%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PepsiCo

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in PepsiCo by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 19,001,928 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,227,287,000 after acquiring an additional 578,083 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in PepsiCo by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 16,878,022 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,859,812,000 after acquiring an additional 595,357 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in PepsiCo in the 4th quarter valued at $2,686,139,000. California Public Employees Retirement System grew its position in PepsiCo by 17.9% in the 4th quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 9,664,323 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,641,389,000 after acquiring an additional 1,470,064 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in PepsiCo by 17.7% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,954,951 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,520,909,000 after acquiring an additional 1,345,065 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

About PepsiCo

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.