PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP – Get Rating) has received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the fourteen ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have given a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $190.25.
A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on PepsiCo from $175.00 to $178.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on PepsiCo from $188.00 to $193.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 26th. UBS Group raised their target price on PepsiCo from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 6th. Citigroup started coverage on PepsiCo in a report on Thursday, February 16th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $180.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on PepsiCo from $200.00 to $210.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 25th.
PepsiCo Price Performance
Shares of NASDAQ PEP opened at $184.19 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $187.50. The firm has a market cap of $253.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18. PepsiCo has a one year low of $154.86 and a one year high of $196.88.
PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP – Get Rating) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 25th. The company reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.13. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 53.68% and a net margin of 7.48%. The business had revenue of $17.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.27 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.29 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that PepsiCo will post 7.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
PepsiCo Increases Dividend
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 2nd will be issued a $1.265 dividend. This represents a $5.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 1st. This is an increase from PepsiCo’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is 106.53%.
Insider Buying and Selling
In other PepsiCo news, Director Robert C. Pohlad sold 75,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.47, for a total transaction of $12,935,250.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 183,929 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,722,234.63. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.15% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PEP. EP Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in PepsiCo during the first quarter worth $310,000. Golden State Equity Partners bought a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the 1st quarter worth approximately $566,000. Macquarie Group Ltd. grew its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 23.1% in the first quarter. Macquarie Group Ltd. now owns 340,492 shares of the company’s stock valued at $62,072,000 after buying an additional 63,971 shares in the last quarter. Searle & CO. boosted its position in PepsiCo by 73.9% during the first quarter. Searle & CO. now owns 43,210 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,248,000 after purchasing an additional 18,360 shares during the period. Finally, Kennedy Investment Group lifted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 4.5% during the first quarter. Kennedy Investment Group now owns 7,735 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,410,000 after buying an additional 335 shares in the last quarter. 70.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
PepsiCo Company Profile
PepsiCo, Inc engages in the manufacture, marketing, distribution, and sale of beverages, food, and snacks. It operates through the following business segments: Frito-Lay North America (FLNA), Quaker Foods North America (QFNA), PepsiCo Beverages North America (PBNA), Latin America (LatAm), Europe, Africa, Middle East, and South Asia (AMESA), and Asia Pacific, Australia and New Zealand, and China Region (APAC).