PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) Stock Price Down 1.2% – Here’s Why

PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)’s share price fell 1.2% on Thursday. The company traded as low as $142.14 and last traded at $142.26. Approximately 8,076,486 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 2% from the average daily volume of 8,267,291 shares. The stock had previously closed at $143.94.

Latest PepsiCo News

Investors following PEP have been watching these news items:

• Positive Sentiment: PepsiCo plans to eliminate about 1,000 North American jobs as part of a push to simplify operations and improve productivity, amid pressure from activist investor Elliott Investment Management. The cost savings and a more streamlined organization could support performance; one report said the shares gained on the restructuring news. PepsiCo plans 1,000 North America job cuts
• Neutral Sentiment: The company is introducing holiday-season flavors across Lay’s, Doritos, Cheetos and Pepsi. New products may help attract shoppers, though the report does not indicate their expected sales impact. PepsiCo launches new holiday flavors
• Negative Sentiment: The job cuts also highlight challenges in North America, including sluggish sales and lower beverage volumes as some consumers shift away from sugary drinks. That demand weakness could limit growth and means the turnaround may take time to show results. PepsiCo to cut about 1,000 North American jobs

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on PEP shares. UBS Group reduced their target price on PepsiCo from $159.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 2nd. BNP Paribas Exane decreased their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $161.00 to $157.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 9th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Deutsche Bank restated a “hold” rating and set a $132.00 target price on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Friday, October 9th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $176.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $143.28.

PepsiCo Trading Down 1.2%

The company has a market capitalization of $193.86 billion, a PE ratio of 17.87, a P/E/G ratio of 4.27 and a beta of 0.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.94. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $133.49 and a 200 day moving average price of $145.71.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 7th. The company reported $2.34 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $25.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $24.95 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.29 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PepsiCo

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PEP. BlackRock Inc. lifted its position in shares of PepsiCo by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 118,281,854 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,015,363,000 after buying an additional 2,440,377 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in PepsiCo by 1.7% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 60,406,932 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,179,099,000 after acquiring an additional 987,582 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in PepsiCo by 0.6% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 21,283,701 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,305,146,000 after acquiring an additional 133,325 shares during the period. Amundi raised its stake in PepsiCo by 16.8% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 11,444,671 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,777,243,000 after acquiring an additional 1,647,506 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in PepsiCo by 4.9% in the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 11,817,684 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,600,114,000 after acquiring an additional 549,336 shares during the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About PepsiCo

PepsiCo, Inc. is a global food and beverage company that develops, manufactures, markets and distributes a broad range of products. Its portfolio includes snacks such as Lay’s, Doritos and Cheetos, as well as beverages including Pepsi, Gatorade and Mountain Dew. The company was formed in 1965 through the merger of Pepsi-Cola and Frito-Lay. Its products are sold in more than 200 countries and territories through retail, food-service and other distribution channels. PepsiCo is headquartered in Purchase, New York.