Brokerages Set PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) PT at $186.13

PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) has earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $185.27.

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $190.00 to $185.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $195.00 target price on shares of PepsiCo in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on PepsiCo from $180.00 to $177.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Finally, BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of PepsiCo in a research report on Monday, June 24th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $174.00 target price for the company.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Ramkumar Krishnan sold 5,620 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.00, for a total transaction of $1,000,360.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 53,953 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,603,634. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PepsiCo

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC grew its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 3,961 shares of the company’s stock worth $693,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 59.4% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 993,567 shares of the company’s stock worth $168,747,000 after buying an additional 370,122 shares in the last quarter. Harbour Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Harbour Capital Advisors LLC now owns 27,446 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,747,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Meadow Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in PepsiCo during the 4th quarter worth approximately $405,000. Finally, Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC increased its holdings in PepsiCo by 34.5% during the 4th quarter. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC now owns 12,317 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,091,000 after purchasing an additional 3,159 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

PepsiCo Stock Up 1.5 %

PEP opened at $166.38 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $228.74 billion, a PE ratio of 25.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $170.93 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $169.98. PepsiCo has a 52 week low of $155.83 and a 52 week high of $192.38.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 11th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $22.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.59 billion. PepsiCo had a net margin of 10.00% and a return on equity of 57.37%. The business’s revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.09 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that PepsiCo will post 8.15 EPS for the current year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th were given a $1.355 dividend. This is an increase from PepsiCo’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.27. This represents a $5.42 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 7th. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 81.50%.

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.