PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) Given New $181.00 Price Target at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) had its target price raised by stock analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $178.00 to $181.00 in a report released on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “neutral” rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 2.74% from the company’s previous close.

PEP has been the subject of several other reports. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $195.00 price objective on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $180.00 price objective on shares of PepsiCo in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $199.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Argus cut shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $183.00 to $184.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $187.33.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PEP traded up $4.95 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $176.17. The company had a trading volume of 3,315,660 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,761,727. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.68. The company has a market cap of $242.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.50, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.53. PepsiCo has a 12-month low of $155.83 and a 12-month high of $196.88. The company has a fifty day moving average of $168.84 and a two-hundred day moving average of $167.63.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $18.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.08 billion. PepsiCo had a net margin of 9.92% and a return on equity of 58.03%. The business’s revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.50 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that PepsiCo will post 8.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PepsiCo

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PEP. Cerity Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 59.4% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 993,567 shares of the company’s stock valued at $168,747,000 after buying an additional 370,122 shares in the last quarter. Harbour Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in PepsiCo by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Harbour Capital Advisors LLC now owns 27,446 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,747,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Meadow Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in PepsiCo during the 4th quarter worth $405,000. Manchester Capital Management LLC lifted its position in PepsiCo by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 13,240 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,243,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC raised its position in shares of PepsiCo by 34.5% during the fourth quarter. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC now owns 12,317 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,091,000 after buying an additional 3,159 shares during the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.