PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) Shares Up 2.2% – Should You Buy?

PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)’s share price traded up 2.2% during trading on Monday. The stock traded as high as $140.66 and last traded at $140.42. 9,109,457 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 11% from the average daily volume of 8,203,774 shares. The stock had previously closed at $137.34.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on PEP. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on PepsiCo from $138.00 to $137.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 9th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley set a $145.00 target price on shares of PepsiCo in a research report on Friday, October 9th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $140.00 to $135.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 5th. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $145.00 to $133.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, PepsiCo has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $143.28.

PepsiCo Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $133.49 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $145.87. The firm has a market cap of $191.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.64, a P/E/G ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.35.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 7th. The company reported $2.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.29 by $0.05. PepsiCo had a net margin of 11.09% and a return on equity of 53.08%. The firm had revenue of $25.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $24.95 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.29 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at PepsiCo

In other news, CEO Ramon Laguarta sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.13, for a total transaction of $4,053,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 491,645 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $66,435,988.85. This trade represents a 5.75% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Robert Pohlad bought 184,646 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 14th. The shares were bought at an average price of $128.28 per share, for a total transaction of $23,686,388.88. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 433,009 shares in the company, valued at $55,546,394.52. This trade represents a 74.35% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PepsiCo

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Evergreen Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. Montgomery Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in PepsiCo in the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Next Level Wealth Planning LLC acquired a new stake in PepsiCo in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Atlatl Advisers LLC bought a new stake in PepsiCo during the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Osterweis Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in PepsiCo during the second quarter worth $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

About PepsiCo

PepsiCo, Inc (NASDAQ:PEP) is a global food and beverage company whose portfolio includes Pepsi-Cola, Mountain Dew, Gatorade, Lay’s, Doritos, Cheetos, Quaker, Tostitos, Fritos, and SodaStream. Its products span carbonated soft drinks, sports and energy beverages, bottled water, juices, convenient foods, snacks, and other packaged food offerings.

The company sells products through retail stores, restaurants, food-service providers, e-commerce platforms, and other distribution channels. PepsiCo serves consumers in North America and international markets across Latin America, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia-Pacific.