First Trust Advisors LP Acquires 59,356 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. $PEP

First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 1.5% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 4,099,435 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 59,356 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $575,725,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PEP. Three Bridge Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of PepsiCo by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Three Bridge Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,870 shares of the company’s stock valued at $544,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the period. Facet Wealth Inc. lifted its stake in PepsiCo by 3.2% in the third quarter. Facet Wealth Inc. now owns 2,221 shares of the company’s stock valued at $312,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Hudock Inc. grew its holdings in PepsiCo by 1.0% during the third quarter. Hudock Inc. now owns 7,079 shares of the company’s stock valued at $994,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. Delta Asset Management LLC TN grew its holdings in PepsiCo by 0.6% during the third quarter. Delta Asset Management LLC TN now owns 11,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,545,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. Finally, Westside Investment Management Inc. increased its position in PepsiCo by 2.8% in the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,602 shares of the company’s stock worth $366,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

PepsiCo Price Performance

PEP stock opened at $159.43 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $155.04 and a 200-day moving average of $149.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $217.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.39. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 12 month low of $127.60 and a 12 month high of $171.48. 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 (NASDAQ:PEP) last posted its 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 net margin of 8.77% and a return on equity of 57.92%. 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 prior year, the firm posted $1.96 EPS. PepsiCo’s revenue was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, February 3rd that allows the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 4.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The firm 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 94.83%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on PEP. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on PepsiCo from $154.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $161.00 to $172.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. Argus upgraded shares of PepsiCo to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of PepsiCo in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $170.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $168.50.

More PepsiCo News

Here are the key news stories impacting PepsiCo this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Product innovation and brand initiatives support long‑term growth — PepsiCo is rolling out Gatorade Lower Sugar nationwide, expanding poppi into the U.K., and using pop‑culture tie‑ins for bubly, signalling renewed focus on higher‑growth, “better‑for‑you” beverage categories that can help revenue/margin mix over time. PepsiCo Leans On Health Drinks And Pop Culture As Shares Lag Targets
• Positive Sentiment: Quarterly results and underlying sales growth remain supportive — post‑Q4 coverage discusses the modest EPS beat and revenue growth, reinforcing the company’s steady cash generation and dividend/ buyback capacity. This underpins investor confidence in the defensive consumer staple story. PepsiCo (PEP): Buy, sell, or hold post Q4 earnings?
• Positive Sentiment: Large bullish options activity suggests some traders expect a rally — unusually high call buying (vastly above average daily volume) can indicate speculative or hedged bullish interest that may fuel upward momentum if fundamentals or sentiment improve. (Note: internal market data)
• Neutral Sentiment: Income appeal remains a structural tailwind — dividend‑focused publications continue to highlight PepsiCo as a holding for yield/defensive exposure amid macro uncertainty, which can support the share price over time even if near‑term volatility occurs. The NASDAQ Dividend Stocks Retirees Are Loading Up On Before The Next Rate Cut
• Neutral Sentiment: Sector re‑rating conversations persist — consumer‑staples roundups list PepsiCo among stable dividend names; useful for longer‑term allocation but unlikely to trigger sharp immediate moves absent new data. 5 Consumer-Staples Stocks to Buy as the Market Gets Shakier
• Neutral Sentiment: Short interest update — recent reporting on short interest provides data investors watch for squeeze/pressure dynamics but by itself doesn’t change fundamentals. PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) Short Interest Update
• Negative Sentiment: Legal/investor‑litigation headline increases risk premium — a new investor alert around possible breaches of fiduciary duty draws attention to governance/legal risk that can pressure sentiment and valuation. PEPSICO, INC. INVESTOR ALERT: Scott+Scott … Investigates PepsiCo, Inc.’s Directors and Officers
• Negative Sentiment: Near‑term analyst/market skepticism — coverage noting that shares are “lagging targets” and articles flagging the stock among “unpopular” names highlight downward analyst pressure and sentiment risk, which can drive short‑term selling. 3 Unpopular Stocks with Open Questions
• Negative Sentiment: Price underperformance versus the market — headlines documenting a recent intraday dip show immediate selling pressure; combined with low average volume today, this can amplify moves on negative news. PepsiCo (PEP) Dips More Than Broader Market: What You Should Know

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.