PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) Price Target Raised to $184.00

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) had its price objective upped by Barclays from $183.00 to $184.00 in a research report released on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the stock.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on PEP. Wedbush restated an outperform rating and issued a $195.00 price target on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Citigroup upgraded PepsiCo from a neutral rating to a buy rating and lifted their price target for the company from $180.00 to $195.00 in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Argus lowered PepsiCo from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on PepsiCo from $181.00 to $184.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered PepsiCo from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $186.92.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

NASDAQ PEP opened at $166.95 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $168.70 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $167.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $229.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.41, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.53. PepsiCo has a fifty-two week low of $155.83 and a fifty-two week high of $196.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 0.85.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 9th. The company reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.72 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $27.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $28.40 billion. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 58.03% and a net margin of 9.92%. The company’s revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.67 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that PepsiCo will post 8.15 earnings per share for the current year.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st were given a $1.265 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $5.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.03%. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.02%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PepsiCo

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Procyon Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of PepsiCo by 54.6% in the first quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 39,692 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,946,000 after purchasing an additional 14,020 shares in the last quarter. Cardinal Capital Management grew its position in shares of PepsiCo by 5.4% in the first quarter. Cardinal Capital Management now owns 30,982 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,459,000 after purchasing an additional 1,590 shares in the last quarter. ERn Financial LLC grew its position in PepsiCo by 2.3% in the first quarter. ERn Financial LLC now owns 5,924 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,037,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares during the period. Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC grew its position in PepsiCo by 12.6% in the first quarter. Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC now owns 6,270 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,097,000 after acquiring an additional 700 shares during the period. Finally, Graybill Wealth Management LTD. grew its position in PepsiCo by 2.7% in the first quarter. Graybill Wealth Management LTD. now owns 16,539 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,894,000 after acquiring an additional 441 shares during the period. 73.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.