Rathbones Group PLC Lowers Position in PepsiCo, Inc. $PEP

Rathbones Group PLC trimmed its stake in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 22.1% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 255,942 shares of the company’s stock after selling 72,416 shares during the period. Rathbones Group PLC’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $35,944,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Three Bridge Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Three Bridge Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,870 shares of the company’s stock valued at $544,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Facet Wealth Inc. increased its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 3.2% in the third quarter. Facet Wealth Inc. now owns 2,221 shares of the company’s stock worth $312,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Hudock Inc. lifted its position in shares of PepsiCo by 1.0% in the third quarter. Hudock Inc. now owns 7,079 shares of the company’s stock worth $994,000 after buying an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Delta Asset Management LLC TN lifted its position in shares of PepsiCo by 0.6% in the third quarter. Delta Asset Management LLC TN now owns 11,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,545,000 after buying an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Westside Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in PepsiCo by 2.8% during the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,602 shares of the company’s stock valued at $366,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

PepsiCo Price Performance

Shares of PEP stock opened at $159.43 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $155.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $149.30. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 52-week low of $127.60 and a 52-week high of $171.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $217.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.57, a P/E/G ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.39.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 2nd. The company reported $2.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.24 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $29.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $28.96 billion. PepsiCo had a net margin of 8.77% and a return on equity of 57.92%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.96 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current year.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be given a dividend of $1.4225 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. This represents a $5.69 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is 94.83%.

PepsiCo declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, February 3rd that permits the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 4.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Key Stories Impacting PepsiCo

Here are the key news stories impacting PepsiCo this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Product innovation and brand initiatives support long‑term growth — PepsiCo is rolling out Gatorade Lower Sugar nationwide, expanding poppi into the U.K., and using pop‑culture tie‑ins for bubly, signalling renewed focus on higher‑growth, “better‑for‑you” beverage categories that can help revenue/margin mix over time. PepsiCo Leans On Health Drinks And Pop Culture As Shares Lag Targets
• Positive Sentiment: Quarterly results and underlying sales growth remain supportive — post‑Q4 coverage discusses the modest EPS beat and revenue growth, reinforcing the company’s steady cash generation and dividend/ buyback capacity. This underpins investor confidence in the defensive consumer staple story. PepsiCo (PEP): Buy, sell, or hold post Q4 earnings?
• Positive Sentiment: Large bullish options activity suggests some traders expect a rally — unusually high call buying (vastly above average daily volume) can indicate speculative or hedged bullish interest that may fuel upward momentum if fundamentals or sentiment improve. (Note: internal market data)
• Neutral Sentiment: Income appeal remains a structural tailwind — dividend‑focused publications continue to highlight PepsiCo as a holding for yield/defensive exposure amid macro uncertainty, which can support the share price over time even if near‑term volatility occurs. The NASDAQ Dividend Stocks Retirees Are Loading Up On Before The Next Rate Cut
• Neutral Sentiment: Sector re‑rating conversations persist — consumer‑staples roundups list PepsiCo among stable dividend names; useful for longer‑term allocation but unlikely to trigger sharp immediate moves absent new data. 5 Consumer-Staples Stocks to Buy as the Market Gets Shakier
• Neutral Sentiment: Short interest update — recent reporting on short interest provides data investors watch for squeeze/pressure dynamics but by itself doesn’t change fundamentals. PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) Short Interest Update
• Negative Sentiment: Legal/investor‑litigation headline increases risk premium — a new investor alert around possible breaches of fiduciary duty draws attention to governance/legal risk that can pressure sentiment and valuation. PEPSICO, INC. INVESTOR ALERT: Scott+Scott … Investigates PepsiCo, Inc.’s Directors and Officers
• Negative Sentiment: Near‑term analyst/market skepticism — coverage noting that shares are “lagging targets” and articles flagging the stock among “unpopular” names highlight downward analyst pressure and sentiment risk, which can drive short‑term selling. 3 Unpopular Stocks with Open Questions
• Negative Sentiment: Price underperformance versus the market — headlines documenting a recent intraday dip show immediate selling pressure; combined with low average volume today, this can amplify moves on negative news. PepsiCo (PEP) Dips More Than Broader Market: What You Should Know

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on PEP. HSBC lifted their price objective on PepsiCo from $152.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $190.00 target price on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of PepsiCo in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $170.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $154.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $168.50.

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.