Benjamin Edwards Inc. Sells 28,048 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. $PEP

Benjamin Edwards Inc. lessened its position in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 29.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 66,272 shares of the company’s stock after selling 28,048 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc.’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $9,309,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in PEP. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 136,936,037 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,081,034,000 after purchasing an additional 1,761,785 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of PepsiCo by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 58,419,849 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,713,757,000 after buying an additional 920,045 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in PepsiCo by 0.3% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 32,675,492 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,301,240,000 after buying an additional 86,695 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in PepsiCo by 9.7% in the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 29,031,404 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,833,406,000 after acquiring an additional 2,556,163 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in PepsiCo during the second quarter worth about $2,330,594,000. 73.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on PEP shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of PepsiCo from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $151.00 to $164.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $163.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 10th. Barclays raised their price objective on PepsiCo from $142.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, December 27th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $158.68.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

Shares of PepsiCo stock opened at $139.37 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $190.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.50, a P/E/G ratio of 4.49 and a beta of 0.42. PepsiCo, Inc. has a twelve month low of $127.60 and a twelve month high of $160.15. The company’s fifty day moving average is $145.54 and its 200 day moving average is $144.02. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 8th. The company reported $2.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.26 by $0.03. PepsiCo had a net margin of 7.82% and a return on equity of 57.58%. The business had revenue of $23.94 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $23.91 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.31 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 EPS for the current year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 5th were given a dividend of $1.4225 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 5th. This represents a $5.69 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.1%. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is 108.17%.

More PepsiCo News

Here are the key news stories impacting PepsiCo this week:

• Positive Sentiment: PepsiCo is expanding AI use across manufacturing and supply-chain operations, deploying AI-powered digital twins to test expansion plans and optimize plants — a move that can lower costs, improve capacity planning and support margins over time. PepsiCo Deploys AI-Powered Digital Twins of Manufacturing Facilities to Test Expansion Plans
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage assessing PepsiCo’s valuation after CES 2026 highlights partnerships with Siemens and NVIDIA — investors may re-rate PEP on expected multi-year efficiency and productivity gains from AI, supporting upside to long-term margins if execution succeeds. Assessing PepsiCo (PEP) Valuation After CES 2026 AI Partnership With Siemens And NVIDIA
• Neutral Sentiment: Market commentary notes PEP “edged higher after six straight declines,” reflecting short-term technical relief but not necessarily a change in fundamentals. PepsiCo edges higher after six straight declines
• Neutral Sentiment: Unusually large options activity was reported in PEP, which can signal traded positioning or hedging and often precedes short-term volatility; it’s ambiguous for direction. PepsiCo Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NASDAQ:PEP)
• Neutral Sentiment: Industry/peer comparisons and coverage (Coca‑Cola vs Pepsi; dividend-focused pieces) are being published — useful for relative valuation but not immediate catalysts. Coca‑Cola Vs Pepsi Stock: Which is the Better Investment for 2026?
• Neutral Sentiment: PepsiCo was mentioned in industry event coverage (TV & Video Insider Summit), which raises visibility but is not a direct earnings driver. PepsiCo, Church’s Chicken, Electronic Arts, Kenvue, Assembly Lead Insights at our TV & Video Insider Summit
• Negative Sentiment: The FTC’s unsealing of data has triggered a surge in price‑fixing litigation naming PepsiCo and Walmart, increasing legal exposure and potential settlement costs as well as reputational risk; this is a material near‑term overhang for the stock. PepsiCo and Walmart Face Price-Fixing Litigation Surge After FTC Unseals Data
• Negative Sentiment: A separate lawsuit alleges a decade‑long price‑fixing scheme involving Walmart and PepsiCo; even if ultimately denied, litigation can mean legal fees, management distraction and potential financial settlements. Lawsuit against Walmart, PepsiCo alleges decade-long price fixing scheme
• Negative Sentiment: Political and regulatory pressure on ultraprocessed foods and sugary drinks (new dietary guidance) has weighed on large packaged‑food stocks, including PepsiCo, as policy shifts can affect marketing, product mix and sales. Kraft Heinz and Mondelez shares drop as Trump officials blast ultraprocessed foods and unveil new food pyramid

PepsiCo Company 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.