Traders Purchase Large Volume of PepsiCo Call Options (NASDAQ:PEP)

PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Monday. Stock investors acquired 69,176 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 112% compared to the average volume of 32,702 call options.

PepsiCo Price Performance

PepsiCo stock opened at $139.92 on Tuesday. PepsiCo has a 52 week low of $127.60 and a 52 week high of $160.15. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $146.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $144.03. The stock has a market cap of $191.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.60, a P/E/G ratio of 4.66 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 8th. The company reported $2.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.26 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $23.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $23.91 billion. PepsiCo had a net margin of 7.82% and a return on equity of 57.58%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.31 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that PepsiCo will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 5th will be issued a $1.4225 dividend. This represents a $5.69 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 5th. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is presently 108.17%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PepsiCo

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in PepsiCo in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $2,330,594,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 14,420.2% in the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,890,688 shares of the company’s stock worth $513,726,000 after purchasing an additional 3,863,893 shares during the last quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC bought a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the second quarter valued at $460,110,000. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of PepsiCo by 120.7% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 5,916,417 shares of the company’s stock valued at $830,902,000 after buying an additional 3,235,726 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in PepsiCo by 9.7% during the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 29,031,404 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,833,406,000 after acquiring an additional 2,556,163 shares during the period. 73.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. HSBC boosted their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $145.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on PepsiCo from $146.00 to $145.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 15th. Rothschild & Co Redburn lifted their price objective on PepsiCo from $117.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of PepsiCo from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $151.00 to $164.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $142.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, PepsiCo currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $158.75.

About PepsiCo

PepsiCo, Inc (NASDAQ: PEP) is a multinational food and beverage company headquartered in Purchase, New York. The company develops, manufactures, markets and sells a broad portfolio of branded food and beverage products, including carbonated and noncarbonated soft drinks, bottled water, sports drinks, juices, ready-to-drink teas and coffees, salty snacks, cereals, and other convenient foods. Its leading consumer brands include Pepsi, Mountain Dew, Gatorade, Tropicana, Quaker, Lay’s, Doritos and Cheetos, among others.

Formed through the 1965 merger of Pepsi-Cola and Frito-Lay, PepsiCo has grown into a global business with integrated manufacturing, distribution and marketing operations.