Banco Santander S.A. Trims Position in PepsiCo, Inc. $PEP

Banco Santander S.A. trimmed its stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 84.9% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 14,102 shares of the company’s stock after selling 79,123 shares during the period. Banco Santander S.A.’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $1,980,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 12.4% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 59,392 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,031,000 after buying an additional 6,574 shares during the period. Caxton Associates LLP purchased a new position in PepsiCo during the 1st quarter valued at about $251,000. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 138.5% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,527 shares of the company’s stock valued at $862,000 after purchasing an additional 3,790 shares in the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. lifted its position in shares of PepsiCo by 10.1% in the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 38,164 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,039,000 after purchasing an additional 3,502 shares during the period. Finally, Main Street Research LLC boosted its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 13.1% during the second quarter. Main Street Research LLC now owns 2,591 shares of the company’s stock valued at $342,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting PepsiCo

Here are the key news stories impacting PepsiCo this week:

• Positive Sentiment: PepsiCo is launching its Poppi soda brand in the UK — its first rollout outside the U.S. — which broadens international growth avenues for a fast‑growing beverage SKU and leverages local bottler Carlsberg Britvic for production and distribution. poppi lands in the UK
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend narrative remains supportive: coverage pieces continue to highlight PepsiCo’s long dividend track record and yield profile, attracting income‑focused investors and providing a defensive valuation underpin. Dividend King coverage
• Positive Sentiment: Management/marketing moves and digital push — PepsiCo elevated Mira Medhat to a regional beverages marketing role and is leaning into social media influencers (TikTok) to drive brand buzz, indicating active investment in demand creation for beverage SKUs. Marketing director promotion
• Neutral Sentiment: Investor attention metrics: tools and sites (Zacks/other screens) show elevated interest in PEP — higher searches can increase short‑term liquidity and volatility but are not directional on fundamentals. Zacks investor interest
• Neutral Sentiment: Nearby competitor/asset news — Celsius Holdings reported strong results after acquiring Rockstar (previously part of PepsiCo). Celsius strength is an industry datapoint but doesn’t directly change PepsiCo’s core beverage economics. Celsius earnings and Rockstar note
• Negative Sentiment: PepsiCo will close a Frito‑Lay warehouse in Rancho Cucamonga, CA, laying off ~248 workers — a cost/supply‑chain action that reduces capacity and creates short‑term disruption and local PR/ESG scrutiny. Frito‑Lay warehouse closure
• Negative Sentiment: Short interest rose sharply in February (≈25% increase month‑over‑month) — a higher short base can amplify downside risk and volatility if negative news or earnings miss occurs. (Data reported in market summaries.)
• Negative Sentiment: Proxy/ESG issue: a shareholder action over animal welfare was halted after PepsiCo relented on a demand — the resolution removes litigation uncertainty but signals concession on an ESG matter, which may concern some investors. Animal welfare proxy suit halted

PepsiCo Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PEP opened at $169.74 on Friday. PepsiCo, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $127.60 and a fifty-two week high of $171.48. The company has a market cap of $231.98 billion, a PE ratio of 28.29, a P/E/G ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.85. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $153.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $148.84.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 2nd. The company reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 net margin of 8.77% and a return on equity of 57.92%. 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 company posted $1.96 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be paid a dividend of $1.4225 per share. This represents a $5.69 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is presently 94.83%.

PepsiCo announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan 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 plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on PEP. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on PepsiCo from $164.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Barclays boosted their price target on PepsiCo from $148.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on PepsiCo from $154.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Eight investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $168.00.

PepsiCo 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.