Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV Grows Stock Position in PepsiCo, Inc. $PEP

Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV raised its holdings in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 451.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,369 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 10,124 shares during the period. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $1,737,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Clayton Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $872,000. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. lifted its position in PepsiCo by 2.6% in the second quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 185,961 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,554,000 after buying an additional 4,627 shares during the last quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC increased its position in PepsiCo by 122.6% during the third quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 20,365 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,860,000 after acquiring an additional 11,217 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 11.7% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 12,659,046 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,671,500,000 after acquiring an additional 1,330,888 shares during the period. Finally, Amica Retiree Medical Trust bought a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the 2nd quarter worth about $124,000. Institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

PepsiCo Price Performance

NASDAQ PEP opened at $169.74 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $153.15 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $148.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $231.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.29, a P/E/G ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.40. 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 12-month low of $127.60 and a 12-month high of $171.48.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 2nd. The company reported $2.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.24 by $0.02. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 57.92% and a net margin of 8.77%.The business had revenue of $29.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $28.96 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.96 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Tuesday, February 3rd that permits the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 4.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is 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 issued 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 payout ratio is 94.83%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PEP has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on PepsiCo from $163.00 to $164.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. Citigroup upped their price objective on PepsiCo from $170.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. BNP Paribas Exane set a $191.00 target price on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $154.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn lifted their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $168.00.

Key Headlines Impacting PepsiCo

Here are the key news stories impacting PepsiCo this week:

• Positive Sentiment: PepsiCo is launching its Poppi soda brand in the UK — its first rollout outside the U.S. — which broadens international growth avenues for a fast‑growing beverage SKU and leverages local bottler Carlsberg Britvic for production and distribution. poppi lands in the UK
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend narrative remains supportive: coverage pieces continue to highlight PepsiCo’s long dividend track record and yield profile, attracting income‑focused investors and providing a defensive valuation underpin. Dividend King coverage
• Positive Sentiment: Management/marketing moves and digital push — PepsiCo elevated Mira Medhat to a regional beverages marketing role and is leaning into social media influencers (TikTok) to drive brand buzz, indicating active investment in demand creation for beverage SKUs. Marketing director promotion
• Neutral Sentiment: Investor attention metrics: tools and sites (Zacks/other screens) show elevated interest in PEP — higher searches can increase short‑term liquidity and volatility but are not directional on fundamentals. Zacks investor interest
• Neutral Sentiment: Nearby competitor/asset news — Celsius Holdings reported strong results after acquiring Rockstar (previously part of PepsiCo). Celsius strength is an industry datapoint but doesn’t directly change PepsiCo’s core beverage economics. Celsius earnings and Rockstar note
• Negative Sentiment: PepsiCo will close a Frito‑Lay warehouse in Rancho Cucamonga, CA, laying off ~248 workers — a cost/supply‑chain action that reduces capacity and creates short‑term disruption and local PR/ESG scrutiny. Frito‑Lay warehouse closure
• Negative Sentiment: Short interest rose sharply in February (≈25% increase month‑over‑month) — a higher short base can amplify downside risk and volatility if negative news or earnings miss occurs. (Data reported in market summaries.)
• Negative Sentiment: Proxy/ESG issue: a shareholder action over animal welfare was halted after PepsiCo relented on a demand — the resolution removes litigation uncertainty but signals concession on an ESG matter, which may concern some investors. Animal welfare proxy suit halted

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.