Chesley Taft & Associates LLC Buys 13,666 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. $PEP

Chesley Taft & Associates LLC increased its position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 8.4% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 175,588 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,666 shares during the quarter. PepsiCo accounts for 1.0% of Chesley Taft & Associates LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $25,200,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in PepsiCo by 1.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 59,499,819 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,356,155,000 after acquiring an additional 1,079,970 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of PepsiCo by 7.6% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 13,617,747 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,912,476,000 after purchasing an additional 958,701 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 8,902,664 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,250,290,000 after purchasing an additional 118,286 shares in the last quarter. Amundi lifted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 30.0% in the 3rd quarter. Amundi now owns 8,641,588 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,207,230,000 after purchasing an additional 1,995,362 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in PepsiCo by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,112,038 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,139,255,000 after purchasing an additional 155,636 shares during the period. 73.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting PepsiCo

Here are the key news stories impacting PepsiCo this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Market note showing shares climbing on the session — reflects investor appetite today amid other supportive news. PepsiCo (PEP) Increases Despite Market Slip: Here’s What You Need to Know
• Positive Sentiment: Management highlights heavy local sourcing (~95% in APAC) plus AI and hedging to control input-cost and geopolitical risks — this should support margins and supply resilience. PepsiCo Leans on Local Sourcing and AI to Navigate Cost Pressures
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage on the same theme: local sourcing and AI-driven cost management, reinforcing the narrative that PepsiCo is proactively protecting margins. PepsiCo Leans on Local Sourcing and AI to Navigate Cost Pressures
• Positive Sentiment: Product strategy shift into meat snacks to meet demand for cleaner ingredients — diversification into premium/snacking categories can boost revenue mix and margins if execution scales. PepsiCo pivots into meat snacks, as consumers now want ‘cleaner’ ingredients
• Positive Sentiment: New global marketing platform “Pepsi Football Nation” expands brand engagement and sponsorship reach — a potential tailwind for beverage/packaged-snack demand around sports. Pepsi Football Nation: a new global platform celebrates football culture
• Positive Sentiment: PepsiCo sees opportunity from China’s new Five-Year Plan — management tone suggests growth focus in a key market, which investors may view as constructive for international revenue. PepsiCo chief sees potential of China’s new Five-Year Plan
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst consensus remains an average “Hold” — suggests no near-term re-rating from sell-side, so short-term moves may be driven more by company updates than upgrades. PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings preview ahead of results — analysts will be watching organic sales, margin trends and guidance; the preview keeps focus on upcoming catalysts rather than changing fundamentals today. PepsiCo Earnings Preview: What to Expect
• Negative Sentiment: Article flags PepsiCo among profitable companies with “questionable fundamentals” — a reminder some investors see valuation or structural concerns despite profitability; could pressure sentiment if echoed by analysts. 3 Profitable Stocks with Questionable Fundamentals

PepsiCo Stock Up 1.5%

PepsiCo stock opened at $153.04 on Friday. PepsiCo, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $127.60 and a fifty-two week high of $171.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.85. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $158.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $150.10. The stock has a market cap of $209.15 billion, a PE ratio of 25.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.39.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last posted its earnings results on Monday, February 2nd. The company reported $2.26 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.24 by $0.02. PepsiCo had a net margin of 8.77% and a return on equity of 57.92%. The firm had revenue of $29.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $28.96 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.96 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be given a $1.4225 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. This represents a $5.69 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.7%. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is currently 94.83%.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on PEP shares. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $172.00 to $181.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 12th. BNP Paribas Exane set a $191.00 target price on shares of PepsiCo in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $148.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on PepsiCo from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Finally, HSBC increased their price objective on PepsiCo from $152.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, PepsiCo presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $169.00.

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.