Morgan Stanley Trims PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) Target Price to $185.00

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) had its price objective decreased by Morgan Stanley from $190.00 to $185.00 in a report issued on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an overweight rating on the stock.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on PEP. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on PepsiCo from $180.00 to $177.00 and set a sector perform rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Bank of America cut their target price on PepsiCo from $210.00 to $190.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 8th. BNP Paribas began coverage on PepsiCo in a research note on Monday, June 24th. They issued a neutral rating and a $174.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on PepsiCo from $180.00 to $179.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $185.27.

PepsiCo Stock Up 1.5 %

PEP stock opened at $166.38 on Friday. PepsiCo has a twelve month low of $155.83 and a twelve month high of $192.38. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96. The company has a market capitalization of $228.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.15, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.52. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $170.93 and a 200-day simple moving average of $169.99.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 11th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $22.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.59 billion. PepsiCo had a net margin of 10.34% and a return on equity of 57.86%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.09 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that PepsiCo will post 8.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th were paid a $1.355 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 7th. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.26%. This is a boost from PepsiCo’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.27. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 78.66%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Ramkumar Krishnan sold 5,620 shares of PepsiCo stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 53,953 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,603,634. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.15% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PepsiCo

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Sunburst Financial Group LLC grew its stake in PepsiCo by 9.6% during the 2nd quarter. Sunburst Financial Group LLC now owns 6,347 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,047,000 after acquiring an additional 555 shares in the last quarter. Hurlow Wealth Management Group Inc. grew its stake in PepsiCo by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter. Hurlow Wealth Management Group Inc. now owns 3,576 shares of the company’s stock valued at $590,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Spectrum Asset Management Inc. NB CA lifted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 41.3% during the 2nd quarter. Spectrum Asset Management Inc. NB CA now owns 2,062 shares of the company’s stock valued at $340,000 after buying an additional 603 shares during the last quarter. Evanson Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 7.6% during the 2nd quarter. Evanson Asset Management LLC now owns 2,260 shares of the company’s stock valued at $373,000 after buying an additional 159 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fermata Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 25.8% during the 2nd quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC now owns 1,477 shares of the company’s stock valued at $244,000 after buying an additional 303 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

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.