PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $187.58.

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $195.00 price target on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on PepsiCo from $209.00 to $211.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 16th. Barclays upped their target price on PepsiCo from $184.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on PepsiCo from $178.00 to $181.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded PepsiCo from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $190.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, March 18th.

Insider Activity at PepsiCo

In related news, CEO Ramkumar Krishnan sold 5,620 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.00, for a total value of $1,000,360.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 53,953 shares in the company, valued at $9,603,634. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.15% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of PepsiCo

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of PEP. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of PepsiCo by 51,059.8% during the 3rd quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC now owns 57,299 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,709,000 after purchasing an additional 57,187 shares in the last quarter. Duality Advisers LP bought a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,095,000. Compass Ion Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the 3rd quarter worth about $529,000. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management boosted its position in shares of PepsiCo by 17.9% during the 3rd quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 13,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,288,000 after purchasing an additional 2,049 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Main Street Financial Solutions LLC boosted its position in shares of PepsiCo by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 8,877 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,504,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

PepsiCo Price Performance

PepsiCo stock opened at $177.99 on Tuesday. PepsiCo has a 12 month low of $155.83 and a 12 month high of $192.38. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $174.57 and its 200-day moving average is $170.16. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96. The company has a market capitalization of $244.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.77, a PEG ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.52.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.61 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $18.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.08 billion. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 57.37% and a net margin of 10.00%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.50 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that PepsiCo will post 8.17 EPS for the current year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th will be issued a $1.355 dividend. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.05%. This is an increase from PepsiCo’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.27. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 7th. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is presently 76.09%.

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.