Wealthfront Advisers LLC Acquires 60,911 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. $PEP

Wealthfront Advisers LLC increased its holdings in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 40.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 210,309 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 60,911 shares during the period. Wealthfront Advisers LLC’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $29,536,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of PEP. JCIC Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in PepsiCo in the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC increased its holdings in PepsiCo by 107.1% during the 2nd quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 234 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares during the period. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC raised its position in PepsiCo by 667.7% during the 3rd quarter. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC now owns 238 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 207 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Frazier Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 85.3% in the 2nd quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 265 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 122 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PEP has been the subject of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Friday, January 9th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $148.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. DZ Bank upgraded shares of PepsiCo from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $167.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Loop Capital set a $164.00 price objective on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Finally, Evercore lifted their price target on PepsiCo from $152.00 to $165.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $167.16.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

Shares of PEP stock opened at $166.47 on Tuesday. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 12-month low of $127.60 and a 12-month high of $170.75. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $147.99 and its 200-day simple moving average is $146.46. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06. The company has a market cap of $227.51 billion, a PE ratio of 27.75, a PEG ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 0.40.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $2.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.24 by $0.02. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 57.92% and a net margin of 8.77%.The firm had revenue of $29.34 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $28.96 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.96 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. PepsiCo has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.550-8.710 EPS. Analysts expect that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

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

PepsiCo announced that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, February 3rd that authorizes the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 4.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.