PepsiCo Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NASDAQ:PEP)

PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) was the target of unusually large options trading on Friday. Traders bought 45,880 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 70% compared to the typical volume of 26,922 call options.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PepsiCo

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Cypress Capital Management LLC WY grew its position in shares of PepsiCo by 8.3% during the 4th quarter. Cypress Capital Management LLC WY now owns 838 shares of the company’s stock worth $121,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. United Bank raised its position in shares of PepsiCo by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. United Bank now owns 1,717 shares of the company’s stock valued at $246,000 after buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 2.5% in the first quarter. Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC now owns 2,673 shares of the company’s stock valued at $415,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the period. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC grew its position in PepsiCo by 3.3% during the first quarter. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC now owns 2,040 shares of the company’s stock worth $317,000 after buying an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Richards Merrill & Peterson Inc. increased its stake in PepsiCo by 3.6% during the 1st quarter. Richards Merrill & Peterson Inc. now owns 1,938 shares of the company’s stock worth $301,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the period. 73.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

PepsiCo Price Performance

PepsiCo stock opened at $136.64 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $186.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.91, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.91. PepsiCo has a 12 month low of $133.73 and a 12 month high of $171.48. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $142.11 and its 200-day moving average is $150.93.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 9th. The company reported $2.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.01. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 54.63% and a net margin of 10.78%.The business had revenue of $24.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $23.95 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.92 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. PepsiCo has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.550-8.710 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that PepsiCo will post 8.57 EPS for the current year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 4th will be issued a dividend of $1.48 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 4th. This represents a $5.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.3%. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 77.59%.

Key Headlines Impacting PepsiCo

Here are the key news stories impacting PepsiCo this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Investors bought an unusually large number of PepsiCo call options, with call volume running about 70% above average, signaling bullish trading activity and expectations for upside.
• Positive Sentiment: News that Quaker Oats plans a major expansion at PepsiCo’s North Texas facility could be viewed as a long-term growth and capacity positive. PepsiCo’s Quaker Oats plans major expansion at its North Texas facility
• Neutral Sentiment: PepsiCo is still trading near the lower end of its 52-week range, which reflects recent weakness, but also leaves room for a rebound if sentiment improves.
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks Research trimmed multiple PepsiCo earnings estimates, including FY2026, FY2027, FY2028 and several quarterly forecasts, which may pressure the stock by reinforcing concerns about earnings momentum.
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that PepsiCo will cease warehouse operations at an Oklahoma production site may raise concerns about restructuring or operational disruption. PepsiCo to cease warehouse operations at Oklahoma production site
• Negative Sentiment: One Seeking Alpha article argued PepsiCo should be downgraded to “Sell,” reflecting continued skepticism about the stock’s near-term return potential. PepsiCo: ‘Upgrading’ From Strong Sell To Sell, But I Still Expect Frozen Returns

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on PEP shares. Evercore set a $150.00 price objective on PepsiCo in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Bank of America reduced their target price on PepsiCo from $173.00 to $164.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Rothschild & Co Redburn increased their price target on PepsiCo from $130.00 to $132.00 in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Wall Street Zen downgraded PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, April 18th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $180.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, PepsiCo presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $157.90.

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.