PepsiCo, Inc. $PEP Shares Bought by V Square Quantitative Management LLC

V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised its position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 26.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 29,711 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,144 shares during the quarter. PepsiCo comprises 0.4% of V Square Quantitative Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest position. V Square Quantitative Management LLC’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $4,264,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its position in shares of PepsiCo by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 554,798 shares of the company’s stock valued at $77,916,000 after purchasing an additional 19,218 shares during the last quarter. Clayton Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $872,000. Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc. increased its position in shares of PepsiCo by 622.3% in the 4th quarter. Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc. now owns 35,603 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,110,000 after purchasing an additional 30,674 shares during the last quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of PepsiCo by 122.6% in the 3rd quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 20,365 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,860,000 after purchasing an additional 11,217 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mediolanum International Funds Ltd increased its position in shares of PepsiCo by 19.3% in the 3rd quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd now owns 252,916 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,451,000 after purchasing an additional 40,947 shares during the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

PepsiCo Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of PepsiCo stock opened at $154.80 on Thursday. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 1 year low of $127.60 and a 1 year high of $171.48. 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 company has a market capitalization of $211.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.80, a PEG ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.40. The company’s fifty day moving average is $160.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $150.88.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. PepsiCo had a net margin of 8.77% and a return on equity of 57.92%. The company had revenue of $29.34 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $28.96 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.96 EPS. PepsiCo’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current year.

PepsiCo announced that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Tuesday, February 3rd that allows the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 4.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th were issued a $1.4225 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 6th. This represents a $5.69 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.7%. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is presently 94.83%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on PEP. Evercore increased their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $152.00 to $165.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Argus raised shares of PepsiCo to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $172.00 to $181.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of PepsiCo in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $176.00 to $172.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, PepsiCo has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $168.58.

More PepsiCo News

Here are the key news stories impacting PepsiCo this week:

• Positive Sentiment: New product momentum — PepsiCo is rolling out “Dirty Mountain Dew” nationally (RTD beverage), a beverage innovation that can help beverage growth and offset some snack weakness. PepsiCo Balances Dirty Mountain Dew Launch With Snack Pricing And ESG Risks
• Positive Sentiment: Sustainability/operational win — PepsiCo commissioned eight retrofitted electric trucks in India, a small but visible ESG/efficiency initiative that investors watch for cost and brand benefits. PepsiCo commissions eight retrofitted electric trucks in India
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support remains — JPMorgan trimmed its target slightly but kept an overweight rating, signaling continued confidence in PepsiCo’s long‑term case. That provides support to the stock amid near‑term noise. MarketScreener
• Neutral Sentiment: Q1 expectations steady — Multiple brokerages expect largely in‑line Q1 results, so near‑term guidance and any North America foods turnaround commentary will be the key earnings reaction points. PepsiCo Likely to Post In-Line First-Quarter Results, BofA Says
• Neutral Sentiment: Investment narrative shifting — Analysts are adjusting fair value and targets up and down as they reassess pricing, volumes and new product rollouts; this creates mixed signals rather than a clear direction. How The PepsiCo (PEP) Investment Narrative Is Shifting With Mixed Targets And Fair Value Reset
• Negative Sentiment: Pricing backlash and lost sales — Heavy coverage reports that pandemic-era price hikes (e.g., Doritos reaching ~$7/bag) cost PepsiCo billions in sales and market value, spotlighting demand elasticity risks in snacks. How $7 bags of Doritos cost PepsiCo billions in sales
• Negative Sentiment: Price cuts and execution worries — PepsiCo has begun cutting Frito‑Lay prices to regain demand, but reports say those moves haven’t fully reassured customers or fixed lost shelf space—raising short‑term margin and execution concerns. PepsiCo hopes to bag more cash with plan to lower prices on snacks
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst pessimism and brand risk — UBS and other outlets published cautious takes/forecasts citing lingering risks from the snack pricing fallout; brand losses (e.g., some hotel accounts switching to Coke) add to the headwinds. UBS Group Issues Pessimistic Forecast for PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) Stock Price

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.