PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) Now Covered by BNP Paribas

Investment analysts at BNP Paribas started coverage on shares of PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) in a report issued on Monday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage set a “neutral” rating and a $174.00 price target on the stock. BNP Paribas’ price objective points to a potential upside of 3.97% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on PEP. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on PepsiCo from $178.00 to $181.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Argus downgraded PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $195.00 price target on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Barclays lowered their target price on PepsiCo from $185.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on PepsiCo from $209.00 to $211.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 16th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, PepsiCo currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $186.15.

PepsiCo Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PEP opened at $167.35 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 0.86. PepsiCo has a fifty-two week low of $155.83 and a fifty-two week high of $192.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $230.07 billion, a PE ratio of 25.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.52. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $173.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $170.37.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $18.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.08 billion. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 57.37% and a net margin of 10.00%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.50 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that PepsiCo will post 8.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at PepsiCo

In related news, CEO Ramkumar Krishnan sold 5,620 shares of PepsiCo stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.00, for a total value of $1,000,360.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 53,953 shares in the company, valued at $9,603,634. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PepsiCo

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PEP. Mutual Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 23.1% in the third quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 25,839 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,378,000 after acquiring an additional 4,854 shares during the last quarter. Milestone Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 5.9% in the third quarter. Milestone Asset Management LLC now owns 1,357 shares of the company’s stock worth $230,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. raised its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 11.8% in the third quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 18,253 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,093,000 after acquiring an additional 1,925 shares during the last quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP raised its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 6.7% in the third quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 54,876 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,298,000 after acquiring an additional 3,430 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 0.4% in the third quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 623,157 shares of the company’s stock worth $105,588,000 after acquiring an additional 2,320 shares during the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

PepsiCo Company Profile

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.