PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) Trading Down 2.9% – Here’s What Happened

PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)’s share price dropped 2.9% on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $146.51 and last traded at $147.86. Approximately 2,308,189 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 68% from the average daily volume of 7,266,076 shares. The stock had previously closed at $152.33.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. UBS Group decreased their price target on PepsiCo from $193.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. TD Cowen decreased their target price on PepsiCo from $183.00 to $160.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $171.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Wednesday. BNP Paribas reduced their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $162.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada assumed coverage on shares of PepsiCo in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. They set a $172.00 target price for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $170.59.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05. The company has a market capitalization of $204.20 billion, a PE ratio of 21.42, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.52. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $148.90 and its 200-day simple moving average is $160.46.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $27.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $27.89 billion. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 58.87% and a net margin of 10.43%. PepsiCo’s revenue was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.78 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current year.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $1.355 dividend. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.64%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.99%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PEP. Swedbank AB lifted its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 211.4% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 2,345,467 shares of the company’s stock worth $398,847,000 after purchasing an additional 1,592,343 shares during the last quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC lifted its position 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 last quarter. Assetmark Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 19.7% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 40,780 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,935,000 after buying an additional 6,704 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC grew its position in shares of PepsiCo by 53.0% in the 3rd quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC now owns 2,360 shares of the company’s stock worth $401,000 after buying an additional 818 shares during the last quarter. Finally, WCM Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 329.3% during the 3rd quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 5,933 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,009,000 after acquiring an additional 4,551 shares in the last quarter. 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.