PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) Stock Price Up 1.4% – Still a Buy?

PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)’s share price was up 1.4% during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $156.32 and last traded at $155.63. Approximately 2,232,058 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 67% from the average daily volume of 6,850,592 shares. The stock had previously closed at $153.50.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on PEP shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $184.00 to $178.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. CICC Research reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of PepsiCo in a research report on Friday, February 7th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $193.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Royal Bank of Canada initiated coverage on PepsiCo in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. They set a $172.00 price objective for the company. Finally, HSBC reduced their price objective on PepsiCo from $186.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $171.47.

PepsiCo Price Performance

The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $148.66 and a 200 day simple moving average of $162.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $210.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.82.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $27.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $27.89 billion. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 58.87% and a net margin of 10.43%. The company’s revenue was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.78 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $1.355 per share. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is 77.99%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PepsiCo

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wilkins Miller Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in PepsiCo in the 4th quarter valued at about $229,000. Hall Capital Management Co. Inc. purchased a new stake in PepsiCo during the fourth quarter valued at about $3,909,000. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 109,915 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,714,000 after buying an additional 4,428 shares during the period. Cypress Asset Management Inc. TX purchased a new position in PepsiCo during the 4th quarter valued at $8,609,000. Finally, Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new stake in PepsiCo in the fourth quarter worth about $643,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.