HF Advisory Group LLC Boosts Holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. $PEP

HF Advisory Group LLC raised its position in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 143.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 47,984 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 28,309 shares during the quarter. HF Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $6,887,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in PepsiCo during the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. JCIC Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Imprint Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of PepsiCo during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC grew its position in PepsiCo by 667.7% in the 3rd quarter. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC now owns 238 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 207 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Advocates LLC purchased a new stake in PepsiCo in the third quarter worth $33,000. Institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on PEP. HSBC upped their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $152.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $156.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $148.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Citigroup boosted their price target on PepsiCo from $170.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on PepsiCo from $154.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Eight 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $169.00.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

Shares of PEP stock opened at $154.65 on Thursday. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 12-month low of $127.60 and a 12-month high of $171.48. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $159.41 and its 200-day simple moving average is $150.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06. The company has a market cap of $211.40 billion, a PE ratio of 25.78, a PEG ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.39.

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

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th were paid a $1.4225 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 6th. This represents a $5.69 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.7%. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 94.83%.

PepsiCo announced that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, February 3rd that authorizes the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 4.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Trending Headlines about PepsiCo

Here are the key news stories impacting PepsiCo this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Defensive-sector flow could support PEP — Investors rotating into consumer staples as a defensive, dividend-paying hedge is boosting interest in PepsiCo given its low beta and steady payout. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Marketing and distribution momentum: Pepsi Football Nation and new venue supply deals deepen brand presence at live events and could lift beverage consumption and retail/promotional revenue over time. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Earnings-beat history supports expectations — Analysts and screens show PepsiCo’s track record of beating estimates, which underpins upside potential into the next quarterly report. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: China opportunity highlighted — A PepsiCo executive emphasized China’s dynamic consumer market and long-term growth potential, reinforcing international revenue tailwinds but with execution and timing caveats. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Varun Beverages (Pepsi bottler) announces final dividend record date — Signals healthy cash generation at an important franchise partner in India; limited direct impact on PEP but positive for regional ecosystem. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Small UK solar investment — A ~US$4.8m solar project for a UK distribution site supports sustainability and modest long-term cost savings; not material to near-term earnings. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Executive moves: a former PepsiCo exec joined a smaller natural-foods firm — notable for talent flow but unlikely to move PEP shares. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Deutsche Bank trims price target to $169 (from $176) and flags “mounting industry pressures” — the cut (though the Buy rating was reiterated) is weighing on sentiment as analysts call out margin and demand risks across beverages/foods. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Competitive debate with Coca‑Cola — Some commentary continues to favor KO over PEP on valuation or brand metrics, which can pressure relative sentiment and multiple compression. Article Title

PepsiCo Company 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.