PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) Stock Price Up 1.5% After Analyst Upgrade

PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP - Get Free Report)'s share price traded up 1.5% during mid-day trading on Tuesday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on the stock from $158.00 to $159.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has a neutral rating on the stock. PepsiCo traded as high as $143.83 and last traded at $143.89. 1,066,803 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 82% from the average session volume of 6,093,898 shares. The stock had previously closed at $141.73.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on PepsiCo from $184.00 to $178.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Citigroup cut their price objective on PepsiCo from $195.00 to $170.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on PepsiCo from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of PepsiCo from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Barclays cut PepsiCo from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $168.00 to $156.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $167.24.

Institutional Trading of PepsiCo

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PEP. Suncoast Equity Management lifted its holdings in PepsiCo by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Suncoast Equity Management now owns 15,341 shares of the company's stock worth $2,300,000 after buying an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. Weaver Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 4.0% during the first quarter. Weaver Capital Management LLC now owns 7,532 shares of the company's stock worth $1,129,000 after buying an additional 291 shares during the last quarter. Marietta Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in PepsiCo by 19.5% during the 1st quarter. Marietta Wealth Management LLC now owns 57,275 shares of the company's stock worth $8,588,000 after acquiring an additional 9,335 shares during the period. GAM Holding AG grew its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 62.3% during the first quarter. GAM Holding AG now owns 11,413 shares of the company's stock worth $1,711,000 after purchasing an additional 4,383 shares during the period. Finally, Stonegate Investment Group LLC grew its position in shares of PepsiCo by 5.1% during the 1st quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC now owns 27,106 shares of the company's stock worth $4,064,000 after buying an additional 1,321 shares during the period. 73.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

PepsiCo Trading Up 1.5 %

The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05. The company has a market capitalization of $197.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.49. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $148.12 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $154.56.

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

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a dividend of $1.355 per share. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. PepsiCo's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.99%.

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.

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