Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Grows Position in PepsiCo, Inc. $PEP

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund grew its stake in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 13.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 198,655 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 22,960 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $27,899,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in PepsiCo in the second quarter valued at about $2,330,594,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 14,420.2% in the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,890,688 shares of the company’s stock worth $513,726,000 after acquiring an additional 3,863,893 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in PepsiCo by 9.7% in the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 29,031,404 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,833,406,000 after purchasing an additional 2,556,163 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in PepsiCo by 19.5% during the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 15,577,073 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,056,797,000 after purchasing an additional 2,541,455 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in PepsiCo by 112.6% in the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 4,040,079 shares of the company’s stock valued at $533,452,000 after purchasing an additional 2,139,847 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

PepsiCo News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting PepsiCo this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Dividend/yield interest — Market commentary argues PepsiCo’s dividend yield and steady payout make PEP attractive in uncertain markets, helping drive inflows and supporting the stock’s rally. I Predicted That PepsiCo’s Dividend Yield Peaked…
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst bull case on long-term growth — Zacks highlights PEP as a top long-term growth name based on its portfolio, cash flow and scale, which supports a buy-and-hold thesis. Why PepsiCo (PEP) is a Top Growth Stock for the Long-Term
• Positive Sentiment: Strategy = innovation + margins — A Zacks piece notes PepsiCo is funding innovation and brand building while pursuing productivity and pricing discipline, signaling management is balancing growth and margin recovery. Can PepsiCo Balance Innovation Spending and Margin Expansion?
• Neutral Sentiment: Debt/capital markets activity — PepsiCo announced a €2.5 billion euro-denominated senior notes offering (tranches), which secures funding but raises leverage; impact depends on use (refinancing vs. new spend). PepsiCo Issues €2.5 Billion Euro-Denominated Senior Notes
• Neutral Sentiment: Promotional pricing on snacks — PepsiCo cut prices (brands like Lay’s, Doritos ~15%) to drive volume; could boost share and top-line but may pressure near-term margins. Betcha can eat more than just one…
• Neutral Sentiment: Local operating focus — Management commentary emphasizes “operate locally” advantages (supply/portfolio tailoring), a strategic positive but not an immediate catalyst. PepsiCo exec on the power of operating locally
• Neutral Sentiment: Celsius board change — A PepsiCo-designate resigned from Celsius’ board; noteworthy for the JV/partnership but not material for PepsiCo’s financials. Celsius Holdings Reshapes Board and Leadership with PepsiCo
• Negative Sentiment: Bearish analyst stance persists — Rothschild & Co Redburn raised its target to $130 but kept a “sell” rating, implying meaningful downside from current levels and signaling some analysts still see valuation risk. Rothschild & Co Redburn adjusts price target…
• Negative Sentiment: Sector/peer weakness — Coca‑Cola’s weak organic-sales guidance pressured beverage peers, briefly weighing on PepsiCo’s stock despite PEP’s own solid quarter. Coca-Cola falls after organic-sales guidance disappoints…

PepsiCo Stock Performance

NASDAQ PEP opened at $169.15 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $148.78 and its 200 day moving average price is $146.79. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06. PepsiCo, Inc. has a twelve month low of $127.60 and a twelve month high of $170.75. The company has a market capitalization of $231.17 billion, a PE ratio of 28.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.40.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 2nd. The company reported $2.26 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $28.96 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.96 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current year.

PepsiCo announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, February 3rd that permits the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 4.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PEP has been the topic of several recent research reports. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $161.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. Rothschild & Co Redburn lifted their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday. BNP Paribas Exane set a $191.00 price target on shares of PepsiCo in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. HSBC lifted their price objective on PepsiCo from $152.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Evercore raised their price target on PepsiCo from $152.00 to $165.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $167.68.

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.