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

PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) has been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the twenty-one analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, ten have issued a hold recommendation and ten have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $161.3158.

A number of research analysts have commented on PEP shares. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $150.00 to $152.00 in a research report on Friday, October 10th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on PepsiCo from $165.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 10th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on PepsiCo from $172.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on PepsiCo from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 17th.

PepsiCo Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of PEP stock traded down $0.25 during trading on Friday, hitting $146.32. 10,278,872 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,137,419. The firm has a market capitalization of $200.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.79 and a beta of 0.42. PepsiCo has a 52-week low of $127.60 and a 52-week high of $160.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $145.62 and its 200-day moving average price is $144.67.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 6th. Investors of record on Friday, December 5th were paid a dividend of $1.4225 per share. This represents a $5.69 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 5th. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is presently 108.17%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PepsiCo

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in PepsiCo by 12.4% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 59,392 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,031,000 after acquiring an additional 6,574 shares in the last quarter. Caxton Associates LLP acquired a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the 1st quarter valued at $251,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its position in shares of PepsiCo by 28.1% during the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 456,817 shares of the company’s stock worth $68,238,000 after purchasing an additional 100,331 shares during the last quarter. Nova Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the first quarter worth $25,000. Finally, Modern Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in PepsiCo by 51.8% in the first quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC now owns 18,193 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,728,000 after buying an additional 6,211 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

PepsiCo Company Profile

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.