Guinness Asset Management LTD Increases Holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. $PEP

Guinness Asset Management LTD raised its holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 29.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,585,557 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 363,201 shares during the quarter. PepsiCo comprises 3.5% of Guinness Asset Management LTD’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest position. Guinness Asset Management LTD owned approximately 0.12% of PepsiCo worth $222,248,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in PepsiCo during the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,330,594,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 14,420.2% during the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,890,688 shares of the company’s stock valued at $513,726,000 after buying an additional 3,863,893 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of PepsiCo by 9.7% during the second 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 in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in PepsiCo by 19.5% in the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 15,577,073 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,056,797,000 after acquiring an additional 2,541,455 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in PepsiCo by 112.6% during the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 4,040,079 shares of the company’s stock valued at $533,452,000 after purchasing an additional 2,139,847 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on PepsiCo from $154.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $163.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on PepsiCo from $161.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. DZ Bank raised PepsiCo from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $167.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 27th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $167.28.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

PEP opened at $167.53 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $147.22 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $146.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The firm has a market cap of $228.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.92, a PEG ratio of 5.43 and a beta of 0.40. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 1-year low of $127.60 and a 1-year high of $168.01.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $2.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.24 by $0.02. PepsiCo had a net margin of 8.77% and a return on equity of 57.92%. The company had revenue of $29.34 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $28.96 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.96 EPS. PepsiCo’s quarterly revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. PepsiCo has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.550-8.710 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be paid a $1.4225 dividend. This represents a $5.69 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 94.83%.

PepsiCo announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, February 3rd that authorizes the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 4.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Key Stories Impacting PepsiCo

Here are the key news stories impacting PepsiCo this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 beat and reiterated guidance — Pepsi reported better-than-expected Q4 revenue and EPS, kept FY26 guidance, and management highlighted margin improvement and execution that helped the stock rally after earnings. Pepsi Pops as Investors Take Notice of Key Strategic Initiatives
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street lifts targets — Several firms raised PEP price targets (examples: Morgan Stanley to $180, JPMorgan to $176, UBS to $190, HSBC to $175), signaling analyst confidence that recent execution and initiatives improve the outlook. PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) Given New $180.00 Price Target at Morgan Stanley
• Positive Sentiment: Shareholder returns boosted — Board declared a higher quarterly dividend (5% increase) and the company announced a $10 billion share-repurchase program, supporting total-return appeal for income and activist-aligned investors. PepsiCo Declares Quarterly Dividend PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) to Repurchase $10.00 billion in Shares
• Positive Sentiment: Strategy shift to lift volumes and margins — Management is cutting and simplifying SKUs, investing in core brands, rolling out affordability (price cuts up to ~15% on some snacks) and pursuing productivity/automation savings to offset inflation — a coordinated plan investors view as constructive for growth and margin recovery. PepsiCo pivoting to snack affordability PepsiCo’s Productivity Strategy: A Catalyst for EPS Expansion?
• Neutral Sentiment: Price cuts follow consumer backlash — Management publicly acknowledged consumer pushback on recent snack pricing and is reducing prices on select SKUs to regain volume; outcome depends on execution and retailer cooperation. Pepsi will cut prices on Lay’s, Cheetos by as much as 15%
• Negative Sentiment: Margin and valuation risk flagged by some analysts — Critics say the rally is partly multiple expansion, volumes remain soft, and the planned price cuts could pressure margins; upside now depends on execution, raising risk for new buyers. PepsiCo: The Carbonation Is Out Of The Bottle – Strong Sell

PepsiCo Profile

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.