Morgan Dempsey Capital Management LLC Increases Stock Position in PepsiCo, Inc. $PEP

Morgan Dempsey Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 37,868.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 20,503 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 20,449 shares during the period. Morgan Dempsey Capital Management LLC’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $2,972,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 138,483,870 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,875,205,000 after buying an additional 1,612,652 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 1.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 59,499,819 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,356,155,000 after buying an additional 1,079,970 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 33,617,937 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,814,835,000 after buying an additional 360,936 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 28,090,426 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,031,646,000 after buying an additional 295,955 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the fourth quarter valued at about $3,018,813,000. 73.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PepsiCo Price Performance

PEP stock opened at $144.27 on Monday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $151.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $152.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $197.18 billion, a PE ratio of 22.65, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.35. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 12 month low of $127.60 and a 12 month high of $171.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.72.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The company reported $1.61 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.55 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $19.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.89 billion. PepsiCo had a net margin of 9.15% and a return on equity of 56.61%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.48 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be paid a dividend of $1.48 per share. This is an increase from PepsiCo’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. This represents a $5.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is 92.94%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on PEP shares. Barclays upped their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $154.00 to $158.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. HSBC upped their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $175.00 to $176.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 17th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $180.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Finally, Evercore boosted their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $165.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $167.35.

Key Headlines Impacting PepsiCo

Here are the key news stories impacting PepsiCo this week:

• Positive Sentiment: PepsiCo continues to expand its autonomous freight network with Gatik, a move that could improve logistics efficiency and help address staffing challenges in hard-to-serve routes. How PepsiCo’s Driverless Freight Rollout With Gatik (PEP) Has Changed Its Investment Story
• Positive Sentiment: The company also highlighted sustainability-focused farmer financing through Compeer Financial, which supports PepsiCo’s supply chain and long-term agricultural sourcing strategy. Compeer Financial Collaborates with PepsiCo to Provide Strip-Till Equipment Financing
• Neutral Sentiment: PepsiCo was included in a Q1 review of beverage, alcohol, and tobacco stocks, but the article was primarily a peer comparison and did not indicate a major new catalyst. Beverages, Alcohol, and Tobacco Stocks Q1 In Review: PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) Vs Peers
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst estimate changes were modest, with Erste Group trimming FY2027 EPS slightly to $9.14 from $9.15, suggesting limited impact on the outlook.
• Negative Sentiment: TD Cowen cut its price target on PepsiCo to $150 from $165 and kept a hold rating, signaling more cautious near-term sentiment on the stock. TD Cowen adjusts PepsiCo price target to 150 from 165
• Negative Sentiment: Piper Sandler also lowered its price target on PepsiCo to $178 from $181, reinforcing the view that analysts see only limited upside from here. Piper Sandler adjusts price target on PepsiCo to 178 from 181

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.