PepsiCo Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NASDAQ:PEP)

PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Thursday. Stock traders acquired 33,914 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of 59% compared to the typical daily volume of 21,389 put options.

PepsiCo Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of PEP stock opened at $150.21 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $206.09 billion, a PE ratio of 22.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.52. PepsiCo has a 52-week low of $149.71 and a 52-week high of $183.41. The business’s fifty day moving average is $159.95 and its 200 day moving average is $167.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 0.89.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 8th. The company reported $2.31 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $23.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.86 billion. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 57.32% and a net margin of 10.18%. PepsiCo’s revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.25 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that PepsiCo will post 8.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be paid a $1.355 dividend. This represents a $5.42 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is currently 79.94%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on PEP. Morgan Stanley downgraded PepsiCo from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $185.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of PepsiCo to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $185.00 to $183.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of PepsiCo from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded PepsiCo to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $184.31.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. State Street Corp lifted its stake in PepsiCo by 5.1% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 57,268,030 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,738,429,000 after purchasing an additional 2,775,679 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 30,497,268 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,170,529,000 after acquiring an additional 543,558 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in PepsiCo by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 21,360,850 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,632,413,000 after acquiring an additional 1,125,059 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in PepsiCo by 7.2% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 13,547,547 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,234,400,000 after purchasing an additional 905,468 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in PepsiCo by 21.1% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 13,021,316 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,293,049,000 after purchasing an additional 2,264,445 shares during the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.