Park National Corp OH Sells 8,119 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. $PEP

Park National Corp OH lessened its stake in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 15.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 44,977 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,119 shares during the quarter. Park National Corp OH’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $6,455,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its stake in PepsiCo by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 38,089 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,466,000 after buying an additional 971 shares during the last quarter. Holos Integrated Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of PepsiCo during the fourth quarter worth approximately $79,000. Miller Global Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of PepsiCo during the fourth quarter worth approximately $73,000. Foguth Wealth Management LLC. acquired a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $264,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 9.0% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 49,143 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,053,000 after purchasing an additional 4,048 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting PepsiCo

Here are the key news stories impacting PepsiCo this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Piper Sandler reiterated an Overweight thesis and raised its price target, citing pricing power and innovation tailwinds — an analyst vote of confidence that can support the stock. Piper Sandler Stays Bullish on PepsiCo (PEP), Cites Pricing and Innovation Tailwinds
• Positive Sentiment: PepsiCo announced it met 2025 pep+ water goals — 100% water replenishment and adoption of the AWS standard at company sites in high‑risk areas — strengthening its ESG credentials and reducing regulatory/operational risk. PepsiCo Hits Dual Water Milestones
• Positive Sentiment: New product expansion: PepsiCo Foods is entering a new snack category, which could drive incremental revenue and demonstrate continued innovation in higher-margin snacking. PepsiCo Foods Is Entering an All-New Snack Category With Its Latest Launch
• Positive Sentiment: Partnerships to extend out‑of‑home reach: PepsiCo was named official beverage partner for Venu’s Sunset Amphitheater portfolio, opening experiential and venue sales channels after the NBA sponsorship loss. PepsiCo Named Official Beverage Partner of VENU’s Premium Sunset Amphitheater Portfolio
• Neutral Sentiment: R&D focus on functional ingredients and protein reformulation highlights long‑term product innovation but is a longer‑horizon growth driver rather than an immediate earnings catalyst. ‘Not all proteins are created equal’: Inside PepsiCo’s approach to functional ingredients
• Neutral Sentiment: PepsiCo India rolled out an EV green corridor to cut supply‑chain emissions—positive for cost and ESG over time but not a near‑term earnings driver. PepsiCo India expands green logistics with Kosi-Pataudi EV corridor
• Negative Sentiment: Brand/sponsorship setback: Coca‑Cola’s Sprite reclaimed the NBA soft‑drink sponsorship from PepsiCo’s Starry, a visible marketing loss that may concern investors about competitive positioning in key sports marketing channels. Coke’s Sprite Takes Back NBA Sponsorship From PepsiCo’s Starry
• Negative Sentiment: Activist-driven overhaul and governance risks: coverage highlights Elliott’s influence, portfolio cuts, cost‑reduction moves and an antitrust-related fiduciary probe — short‑term uncertainty and potential execution risk that can pressure the stock. How Elliott-Driven Overhaul and Health Push Could Reshape PepsiCo’s (PEP) Long-Term Investment Story

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PEP has been the subject of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on PepsiCo from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $190.00 target price on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $156.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $154.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $164.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $169.00.

PepsiCo Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PEP opened at $152.74 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $158.02 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $149.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $208.74 billion, a PE ratio of 25.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.67. PepsiCo, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $127.60 and a fifty-two week high of $171.48.

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

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

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 issued a $1.4225 dividend. This represents a $5.69 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 94.83%.

PepsiCo announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program 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 programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.