PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) Trading Up 0.5%

PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) traded up 0.5% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $163.63 and last traded at $163.46. 778,273 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 86% from the average session volume of 5,445,051 shares. The stock had previously closed at $162.60.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $195.00 target price on shares of PepsiCo in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. TD Cowen lowered their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $200.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Argus downgraded shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $209.00 to $211.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 16th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $185.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $186.64.

PepsiCo Stock Up 0.9 %

The business’s fifty day moving average price is $172.37 and its 200 day moving average price is $170.13. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $225.45 billion, a PE ratio of 24.58, a PEG ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.52.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.09. PepsiCo had a net margin of 10.00% and a return on equity of 57.37%. The firm had revenue of $18.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.08 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.50 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 7th were given a dividend of $1.355 per share. This is a positive change from PepsiCo’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.27. This represents a $5.42 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 7th. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is presently 81.50%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Ramkumar Krishnan sold 5,620 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.00, for a total value of $1,000,360.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 53,953 shares in the company, valued at $9,603,634. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of PepsiCo

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA raised its stake in PepsiCo by 80.5% during the fourth quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 157 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 69 shares during the period. Fortis Group Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 100.0% in the 4th quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC now owns 194 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the period. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the 1st quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Life Planning Partners Inc purchased a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the 4th quarter valued at $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.