PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) Shares Up 0.6% - Still a Buy?

Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP - Get Free Report) traded up 0.6% on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $145.48 and last traded at $144.96. 1,092,136 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 84% from the average session volume of 6,743,081 shares. The stock had previously closed at $144.10.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. CICC Research restated a "market perform" rating on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Citigroup dropped their price target on PepsiCo from $195.00 to $170.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on PepsiCo from $183.00 to $165.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on PepsiCo from $180.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on PepsiCo from $184.00 to $178.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, PepsiCo currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $171.47.

PepsiCo Stock Up 3.0 %

The company has a fifty day moving average of $148.75 and a two-hundred day moving average of $162.39. The company has a market cap of $210.53 billion, a PE ratio of 22.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.82.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.02. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 58.87% and a net margin of 10.43%. The company had revenue of $27.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $27.89 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.78 EPS. PepsiCo's quarterly revenue was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $1.355 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.53%. PepsiCo's payout ratio is 77.99%.

Institutional Trading of PepsiCo

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PEP. AMF Tjanstepension AB increased its stake in PepsiCo by 15.8% in the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 293,824 shares of the company's stock worth $50,016,000 after purchasing an additional 40,031 shares during the period. Swedbank AB increased its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 211.4% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 2,345,467 shares of the company's stock valued at $398,847,000 after buying an additional 1,592,343 shares during the period. Howard Capital Management Group LLC increased its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 2.0% during the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 4,568 shares of the company's stock valued at $777,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the period. Fulcrum Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 0.4% during the third quarter. Fulcrum Capital LLC now owns 49,465 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,412,000 after buying an additional 188 shares during the period. Finally, McAdam LLC increased its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 21.0% during the third quarter. McAdam LLC now owns 2,061 shares of the company's stock valued at $351,000 after buying an additional 357 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.07% of the company's stock.

PepsiCo Company Profile

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.