PepsiCo Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NASDAQ:PEP)

PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP - Get Free Report) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Stock investors acquired 33,914 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of 59% compared to the typical daily volume of 21,389 put options.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PEP. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates raised its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 59.0% during the 3rd quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 159 shares of the company's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in PepsiCo during the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in PepsiCo in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Mattson Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the 2nd quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 93.2% in the 3rd quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 199 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on PEP. Hsbc Global Res raised PepsiCo to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised PepsiCo from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $179.00 to $184.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $177.00 to $176.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 4th. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of PepsiCo to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $186.00 to $183.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $184.31.

PepsiCo Trading Down 1.2 %

PEP traded down $1.85 during trading on Thursday, reaching $150.21. The company had a trading volume of 4,961,565 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,585,426. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 0.89. PepsiCo has a 12-month low of $149.71 and a 12-month high of $183.41. The company has a market cap of $206.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.15, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.52. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $159.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $167.37.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 8th. The company reported $2.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.01. PepsiCo had a net margin of 10.18% and a return on equity of 57.32%. The business had revenue of $23.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.86 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.25 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that PepsiCo will post 8.15 earnings per share for the current year.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be issued a $1.355 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.61%. PepsiCo's dividend payout ratio is 79.94%.

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.