PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) Shares Down 2.6% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) traded down 2.6% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $142.38 and last traded at $142.68. 2,397,873 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 60% from the average session volume of 5,989,229 shares. The stock had previously closed at $146.54.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Redburn Atlantic upgraded PepsiCo to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on PepsiCo from $185.00 to $183.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Piper Sandler began coverage on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Tuesday. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $171.00 price objective on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of PepsiCo from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $179.00 to $184.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $177.00 to $176.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $180.64.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $194.90 billion, a PE ratio of 20.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.70. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $157.81 and a 200-day simple moving average of $166.68.

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

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th were given a $1.355 dividend. This represents a $5.42 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.82%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is 79.94%.

Institutional Trading of PepsiCo

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its stake in PepsiCo by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 19,597 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,980,000 after purchasing an additional 478 shares in the last quarter. CCM Investment Advisers LLC boosted its stake in PepsiCo by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. CCM Investment Advisers LLC now owns 69,178 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,519,000 after acquiring an additional 382 shares during the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. grew its holdings in PepsiCo by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 77,192 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,738,000 after acquiring an additional 2,235 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of PepsiCo by 16.7% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,166,089 shares of the company’s stock worth $177,315,000 after purchasing an additional 167,122 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV lifted its position in shares of PepsiCo by 12.8% during the fourth quarter. Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 41,580 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,323,000 after purchasing an additional 4,712 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

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.