Portus Wealth Advisors LLC Acquires New Position in PepsiCo, Inc. $PEP

Portus Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm bought 7,899 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,109,000. PepsiCo comprises 1.1% of Portus Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 28th largest holding.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of PepsiCo during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. JCIC Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in PepsiCo in the third quarter worth $27,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC increased its stake in PepsiCo by 107.1% during the second quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 234 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. Imprint Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PepsiCo during the third quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 667.7% during the third quarter. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC now owns 238 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 207 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

More PepsiCo News

Here are the key news stories impacting PepsiCo this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Settlement with activist investor Elliott Management — PepsiCo reached a deal with Elliott (which holds a large stake) to pursue expense cuts, portfolio rationalization and potential leadership changes, a development investors often view as supportive of near‑term shareholder value and operational focus. PepsiCo Activist Deal And Good Warrior Launch Refocus Growth Priorities
• Positive Sentiment: New product expansion — PepsiCo launched the Good Warrior meat‑stick brand, entering a fast‑growing, higher‑margin protein-snack category. This expands addressable market and supports growth/innovation narrative. PepsiCo Enters Booming Meat-Stick Space With Good Warrior
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst/sector support — commentator pieces highlight PepsiCo as a reliable dividend and defensive consumer staple, which can support the stock versus cyclicals during volatile markets. These Dividend Monsters Continue to Outshine the Market: PEP, HSY
• Neutral Sentiment: Q1 results timing set — PepsiCo announced it will report first-quarter 2026 results on April 16; investors will await details on organic growth, margins and any updated guidance. PepsiCo Announces Timing and Availability of First-Quarter 2026 Financial Results
• Neutral Sentiment: Marketing buzz — Pepsi released a special limited Pepsi flavor and other campaign activity (including new Gen Z faces in India). These create consumer engagement but have limited near‑term revenue impact. Special new Pepsi flavor is out but you can’t get it in stores
• Neutral Sentiment: Puerto Rico SNAP bill mentioned — legislation to transition Puerto Rico to SNAP could eventually raise local consumer purchasing power and beverage/snack demand, but implementation is long-timed and uncertain. New Bill: Puerto Rico Nutrition Assistance Fairness Act
• Negative Sentiment: Loss of NBA sponsorship for Starry — Coca‑Cola’s Sprite has taken back NBA sponsorship from PepsiCo’s Starry, reducing a high‑visibility marketing channel for PepsiCo’s challenger soda brand. That is a near‑term negative for brand reach and Starry momentum. Coke’s Sprite Takes Back NBA Sponsorship From PepsiCo’s Starry
• Negative Sentiment: Shareholder/ legal scrutiny — a law firm has launched an investigation into possible fiduciary breaches by PepsiCo’s board related to an antitrust suit; governance and litigation risk can pressure sentiment. SHAREHOLDER ALERT: Lowey Dannenberg Investigation
• Negative Sentiment: Short‑term price pressure reported — recent market coverage notes PEP shares pulled back amid a broader market uptick, signaling profit‑taking or headline‑driven selling despite the constructive activist agreement. PepsiCo (PEP) Stock Falls Amid Market Uptick

PepsiCo Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of PepsiCo stock opened at $156.50 on Wednesday. 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 1-year low of $127.60 and a 1-year high of $171.48. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $157.42 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $149.84. The company has a market capitalization of $213.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.08, a PEG ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.39.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $2.24 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $29.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $28.96 billion. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 57.92% and a net margin of 8.77%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.96 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 EPS for the current year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

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

PepsiCo announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Tuesday, February 3rd that authorizes the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 4.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PEP has been the subject of several research reports. HSBC lifted their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $152.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Argus upgraded shares of PepsiCo to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on PepsiCo from $172.00 to $181.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on PepsiCo from $156.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on PepsiCo from $163.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, PepsiCo currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $169.00.

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.