PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) Trading Up 0.3% – Time to Buy?

PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)’s stock price rose 0.3% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $177.39 and last traded at $176.58. Approximately 822,636 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 85% from the average daily volume of 5,482,022 shares. The stock had previously closed at $176.10.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on PEP. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on PepsiCo from $177.00 to $176.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on PepsiCo from $180.00 to $179.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. StockNews.com cut shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of PepsiCo to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $183.92.

PepsiCo Trading Up 0.1 %

The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $173.68 and a 200 day simple moving average of $172.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $240.13 billion, a PE ratio of 25.35, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 8th. The company reported $2.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $23.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $23.86 billion. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 57.32% and a net margin of 10.18%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.25 earnings per share. Analysts predict that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 6th were issued a $1.355 dividend. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 6th. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is presently 78.66%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates lifted its position in shares of PepsiCo by 59.0% during the 3rd quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 159 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the period. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in PepsiCo by 77.5% during the first quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 158 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC grew its holdings in 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 shares of PepsiCo in the second quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Mattson Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the 2nd quarter worth about $34,000. 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.