Xponance Inc. Buys 6,811 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. $PEP

Xponance Inc. lifted its position in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 2.9% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 242,482 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,811 shares during the period. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $34,054,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the second quarter worth about $27,000. JCIC Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in PepsiCo during the third quarter valued at $27,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC lifted its stake in PepsiCo by 107.1% in the second quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 234 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in PepsiCo by 667.7% during 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 period. Finally, Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the third quarter worth about $37,000. 73.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on PEP shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on PepsiCo from $161.00 to $172.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Barclays lifted their target price on PepsiCo from $148.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $156.00 price target on shares of PepsiCo in a research 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 assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, PepsiCo has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $168.00.

Key Stories Impacting PepsiCo

Here are the key news stories impacting PepsiCo this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Poppi (PepsiCo’s soda brand) launched in the UK via Carlsberg Britvic, marking the brand’s first market outside the U.S.; this expands PepsiCo’s faster‑growth beverage portfolio in a major market and shows continued product innovation/partner leverage. poppi lands in the UK, marking its first launch outside the US
• Positive Sentiment: PepsiCo is increasing consumer reach via social marketing (TikTok creators) which can boost lower‑cost engagement and support beverage sales momentum among younger cohorts. PepsiCo turns to TikTok stars for social media buzz
• Neutral Sentiment: Internal organization update — Mira Medhat promoted to Beverages Marketing Director, Gulf & Levant. Operational hires/promotions support regional execution but are unlikely to move the stock materially short‑term. PepsiCo elevates Mira Medhat to Beverages Marketing Director – Gulf & Levant
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst/retail attention pieces and dividend roundups (Zacks, The Motley Fool, 247WallSt) highlight PEP’s income profile and investor interest, supporting the stock as a dividend play but not implying near‑term catalysts. Investors Heavily Search PepsiCo, Inc. (PEP)
• Negative Sentiment: PepsiCo will close a Rancho Cucamonga Frito‑Lay warehouse and lay off 248 workers — a near‑term operational disruption and potential restructuring/exit costs that add to execution risk and negative headlines. PepsiCo to shutter California Frito‑Lay warehouse Frito‑Lay closing Rancho Cucamonga warehouse, laying off 248 workers
• Negative Sentiment: Short interest rose sharply in February (~25.5% increase to ~29.7M shares), which can amplify downward pressure and volatility if bearish sentiment persists or if catalysts disappoint. (Context: short interest ~2.2% of float; ratio ~2.6 days.)
• Negative Sentiment: Proxy/animal‑welfare dispute was halted after PepsiCo relented on demands — removes litigation but signals governance concessions that may concern some investors about activist influence and added commitments/costs. PepsiCo animal welfare proxy suit halted after company relents

PepsiCo Stock Down 0.9%

PepsiCo stock opened at $167.58 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $229.02 billion, a PE ratio of 27.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.40. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $152.72 and a 200-day simple moving average of $148.65. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 12 month low of $127.60 and a 12 month high of $171.48.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 2nd. The company reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.24 by $0.02. PepsiCo had a net margin of 8.77% and a return on equity of 57.92%. The firm had revenue of $29.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $28.96 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.96 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo announced that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Tuesday, February 3rd that allows the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 4.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

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

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.