PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) Shares Down 0.8% – Should You Sell?

PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) shares traded down 0.8% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $172.47 and last traded at $172.99. 689,272 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 87% from the average session volume of 5,465,569 shares. The stock had previously closed at $174.37.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on PEP. Hsbc Global Res upgraded PepsiCo to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. TD Cowen cut PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $190.00 to $183.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on PepsiCo from $180.00 to $179.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on PepsiCo from $190.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic raised shares of PepsiCo to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, PepsiCo presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $183.92.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96. The company has a market cap of $237.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.51, a P/E/G ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 0.53. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $173.90 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $172.23.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last released its quarterly 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 return on equity of 57.32% and a net margin of 10.18%. The company had revenue of $23.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.86 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.25 EPS. PepsiCo’s quarterly revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.15 EPS for the current 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 paid a dividend of $1.355 per share. This represents a $5.42 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.13%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 6th. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is 79.94%.

Institutional Trading of PepsiCo

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in PepsiCo by 7.2% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 13,547,547 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,234,400,000 after acquiring an additional 905,468 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in PepsiCo by 7.4% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 10,147,530 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,673,632,000 after buying an additional 700,092 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in PepsiCo by 8.2% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,403,398 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,221,089,000 after acquiring an additional 561,465 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in PepsiCo by 1.1% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,130,517 shares of the company’s stock worth $846,030,000 after acquiring an additional 57,322 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Flossbach Von Storch AG increased its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 67.2% during the 1st quarter. Flossbach Von Storch AG now owns 4,560,007 shares of the company’s stock worth $798,047,000 after buying an additional 1,832,385 shares during the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.