PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) Lowered to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Friday morning.

PEP has been the topic of a number of other research reports. TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $200.00 to $190.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on PepsiCo from $184.00 to $182.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 12th. BNP Paribas began coverage on shares of PepsiCo in a research report on Monday, June 24th. They set a neutral rating and a $174.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley cut shares of PepsiCo from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating and set a $185.00 price target for the company. in a report on Friday. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $210.00 to $190.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 8th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $185.53.

PepsiCo Stock Up 0.5 %

PEP stock opened at $172.11 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $236.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $173.68 and a 200-day moving average price of $171.93. PepsiCo has a 12 month low of $155.83 and a 12 month high of $183.41.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 11th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.12. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 57.37% and a net margin of 10.34%. The company had revenue of $22.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.59 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.09 EPS. PepsiCo’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that PepsiCo will post 8.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 6th will be paid a $1.355 dividend. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.15%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 6th. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is currently 78.66%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PepsiCo

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Flossbach Von Storch AG increased its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 1,832,385 shares during the period. PineStone Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in PepsiCo by 125.2% in the 2nd quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,740,573 shares of the company’s stock worth $452,003,000 after buying an additional 1,523,631 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 429.3% in the 1st quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,454,793 shares of the company’s stock worth $254,603,000 after buying an additional 1,179,922 shares during the last quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of PepsiCo during the 1st quarter worth $166,243,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in PepsiCo by 7.2% in the second 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.