PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) Trading 0.9% Higher Following Analyst Upgrade

PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)’s stock price shot up 0.9% during mid-day trading on Tuesday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on the stock from $182.00 to $185.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has a neutral rating on the stock. PepsiCo traded as high as $171.94 and last traded at $171.62. 1,340,716 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 75% from the average session volume of 5,468,750 shares. The stock had previously closed at $170.05.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on PEP. Morgan Stanley downgraded PepsiCo from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $185.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $180.00 to $177.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 12th. DZ Bank downgraded shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $183.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on PepsiCo from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, PepsiCo currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $185.40.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PepsiCo

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PEP. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in PepsiCo by 77.5% in the 1st quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 158 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates boosted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 59.0% during the 3rd quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 159 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC increased its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 141.3% in the second quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 181 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new position in PepsiCo during the second quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Fortis Group Advisors LLC boosted its stake in PepsiCo by 100.0% during the fourth quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC now owns 194 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PepsiCo Trading Down 0.6 %

The company has a market capitalization of $231.49 billion, a PE ratio of 24.46, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $173.95 and a 200-day simple moving average of $172.15. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87.

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, topping 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 10.34% 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 earned $2.09 EPS. Analysts predict that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.14 EPS for the current year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 6th were issued a $1.355 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 6th. This represents a $5.42 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.22%. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 78.66%.

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.