PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) Shares Up 1%

PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) traded up 1% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $176.15 and last traded at $175.87. 1,408,152 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 75% from the average session volume of 5,676,634 shares. The stock had previously closed at $174.13.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $195.00 price target on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Tuesday. Argus cut shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. StockNews.com cut shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $183.00 to $184.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on PepsiCo from $199.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $186.92.

PepsiCo Trading Down 3.0 %

The stock has a market cap of $235.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.53. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $168.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $167.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last issued its earnings results on Friday, February 9th. The company reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.72 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $27.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $28.40 billion. PepsiCo had a net margin of 9.92% and a return on equity of 58.03%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.67 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.15 EPS for the current year.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 1st were paid a $1.265 dividend. This represents a $5.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.96%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is 77.02%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PepsiCo

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PEP. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 3.1% during 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 buying an additional 578,083 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 16,878,022 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,859,812,000 after buying an additional 595,357 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of PepsiCo during the 4th quarter valued at $2,686,139,000. California Public Employees Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 17.9% during 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 purchasing an additional 1,470,064 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 17.7% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,954,951 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,520,909,000 after purchasing an additional 1,345,065 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.