Morgan Stanley Issues Pessimistic Forecast for PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) Stock Price

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP - Get Free Report) had its target price dropped by investment analysts at Morgan Stanley from $168.00 to $153.00 in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an "equal weight" rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley's target price suggests a potential upside of 14.71% from the company's current price.

A number of other brokerages have also recently weighed in on PEP. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $155.00 to $150.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday. TD Cowen dropped their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $183.00 to $160.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on PepsiCo from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. UBS Group lowered their target price on PepsiCo from $175.00 to $169.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on PepsiCo from $184.00 to $178.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $162.00.

PepsiCo Trading Down 1.4 %

NASDAQ PEP traded down $1.93 on Friday, reaching $133.38. The stock had a trading volume of 11,537,466 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,152,649. PepsiCo has a 12-month low of $131.80 and a 12-month high of $183.41. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $147.70 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $153.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $182.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.19, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.52 by ($0.04). PepsiCo had a return on equity of 58.87% and a net margin of 10.43%. The firm had revenue of $17.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.81 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that PepsiCo will post 8.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PepsiCo

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Collier Financial acquired a new position in PepsiCo in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in PepsiCo in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC purchased a new stake in PepsiCo during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in PepsiCo during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. acquired a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 73.07% of the stock is 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.