PepsiCo, Inc. $PEP Shares Acquired by Plato Investment Management Ltd

Plato Investment Management Ltd increased its holdings in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 10.2% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 70,534 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,553 shares during the period. Plato Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $9,495,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PEP. Auto Owners Insurance Co grew its position in shares of PepsiCo by 14,857.8% in the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 49,252,907 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,068,777,000 after purchasing an additional 48,923,629 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the 4th quarter worth about $3,018,813,000. Diamant Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in PepsiCo by 16,146.5% in the 1st quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,586,423 shares of the company’s stock valued at $556,936,000 after buying an additional 3,564,348 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in PepsiCo by 952.6% in the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 3,715,812 shares of the company’s stock worth $503,121,000 after buying an additional 3,362,794 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in PepsiCo by 120.7% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 5,916,417 shares of the company’s stock worth $830,902,000 after buying an additional 3,235,726 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

Key PepsiCo News

Here are the key news stories impacting PepsiCo this week:

• Positive Sentiment: PepsiCo’s international business is approaching $40 billion in annual revenue, supported by overseas volume growth, market-share gains and continued investment. A greater contribution from international markets could diversify growth beyond the mature U.S. business. Is PepsiCo’s Growth Story Becoming More Internationally Focused?
• Positive Sentiment: PepsiCo is reportedly considering Iraq as a potential Middle East manufacturing hub. Such an investment could improve regional production and distribution, although the project remains prospective. Will Iraq become PepsiCo’s Next Middle East Manufacturing Hub?
• Positive Sentiment: Several dividend-investing articles continue to present PepsiCo as a long-term income and defensive consumer-staples holding. That supports demand from investors seeking reliable cash distributions, particularly while interest rates remain elevated. 3 Dividend Stocks to Buy Before August Ends and Hold for Life
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts collectively rate PepsiCo “Hold,” suggesting the stock’s valuation and dependable dividend are balanced against limited near-term growth and execution risks. PepsiCo Receives Consensus Recommendation of Hold
• Negative Sentiment: India’s food-safety regulator issued notices to major food companies, including PepsiCo, over alleged misleading advertising and labeling claims. The developments could bring compliance costs, reputational concerns or product changes. Food Safety Regulator Notices Major Food Companies
• Negative Sentiment: Consumers are shifting toward healthier and lower-sugar beverages, increasing competition from brands such as Olipop. PepsiCo’s acquisition of Poppi gives it exposure to the trend, but the transition could pressure traditional soda demand and require greater innovation spending. How Olipop Is Beating Big Soda at Its Own Game

PepsiCo Stock Performance

NASDAQ PEP opened at $144.67 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.91, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 0.93. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $139.99 and its two-hundred day moving average is $150.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $197.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.35. PepsiCo, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $133.73 and a fifty-two week high of $171.48.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 9th. The company reported $2.20 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $24.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.95 billion. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 54.63% and a net margin of 10.78%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.92 EPS. PepsiCo has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.550-8.710 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.57 earnings per share for the current year.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 4th will be paid a dividend of $1.48 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 4th. This represents a $5.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.1%. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is 77.59%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on PEP. BNP Paribas Exane decreased their target price on PepsiCo from $195.00 to $183.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Barclays raised their price objective on PepsiCo from $138.00 to $142.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $180.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $155.00 target price on shares of PepsiCo in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein set a $134.00 price target on shares of PepsiCo in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $157.90.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP David Flavell sold 2,900 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.54, for a total value of $404,666.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 74,825 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,441,080.50. This represents a 3.73% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.12% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.