Rafferty Asset Management LLC Sells 4,393 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. $PEP

Rafferty Asset Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 2.1% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 203,043 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,393 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $28,515,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of PepsiCo by 21.1% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,061,987 shares of the company’s stock valued at $430,026,000 after buying an additional 532,694 shares during the last quarter. Seven Springs Wealth Group LLC lifted its stake in PepsiCo by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. Seven Springs Wealth Group LLC now owns 4,916 shares of the company’s stock valued at $690,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Caitlin John LLC purchased a new position in PepsiCo during the 3rd quarter worth $61,000. Gentry Private Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Gentry Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,542 shares of the company’s stock worth $497,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV raised its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 451.0% in the third quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 12,369 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,737,000 after purchasing an additional 10,124 shares during the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PepsiCo News Roundup

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 Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of 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 business has a 50-day moving average of $153.15 and a 200 day moving average of $148.84. The firm has a market cap of $231.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.29, a price-to-earnings-growth 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.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last issued its earnings results on Monday, February 2nd. The company reported $2.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.24 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $29.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $28.96 billion. PepsiCo had a net margin of 8.77% and a return on equity of 57.92%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.96 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 EPS for the current year.

PepsiCo announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Tuesday, February 3rd that authorizes the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 4.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on PEP. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $170.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on PepsiCo from $163.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on PepsiCo from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Rothschild & Co Redburn boosted their price objective on PepsiCo from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane set a $191.00 price objective on PepsiCo in a research note 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.