PepsiCo Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NASDAQ:PEP)

PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Monday. Stock traders bought 69,176 call options on the company. This is an increase of 112% compared to the typical volume of 32,702 call options.

PepsiCo Trading Down 1.3%

PEP stock traded down $1.91 on Monday, reaching $140.32. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,105,681 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,563,263. The firm has a market cap of $191.86 billion, a PE ratio of 26.65, a PEG ratio of 4.66 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.91. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $146.37 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $143.96. PepsiCo has a 12-month low of $127.60 and a 12-month high of $160.15.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 8th. The company reported $2.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.26 by $0.03. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 57.58% and a net margin of 7.82%.The business had revenue of $23.94 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $23.91 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.31 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that PepsiCo will post 8.3 EPS for the current year.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 6th. Investors of record on Friday, December 5th will be issued a $1.4225 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 5th. This represents a $5.69 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.1%. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 108.17%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on PEP. Wall Street Zen downgraded PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 27th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on PepsiCo from $163.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. Barclays increased their target price on PepsiCo from $142.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. HSBC raised their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $145.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 10th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $150.00 to $152.00 in a research report on Friday, October 10th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $158.75.

Institutional Trading of PepsiCo

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Nova Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of PepsiCo during the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the second quarter valued at $27,000. JCIC Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of PepsiCo during the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC grew its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 107.1% in the second quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 234 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

About PepsiCo

PepsiCo, Inc (NASDAQ: PEP) is a multinational food and beverage company headquartered in Purchase, New York. The company develops, manufactures, markets and sells a broad portfolio of branded food and beverage products, including carbonated and noncarbonated soft drinks, bottled water, sports drinks, juices, ready-to-drink teas and coffees, salty snacks, cereals, and other convenient foods. Its leading consumer brands include Pepsi, Mountain Dew, Gatorade, Tropicana, Quaker, Lay’s, Doritos and Cheetos, among others.

Formed through the 1965 merger of Pepsi-Cola and Frito-Lay, PepsiCo has grown into a global business with integrated manufacturing, distribution and marketing operations.