PepsiCo, Inc. $PEP Shares Acquired by Legal & General Group Plc

Legal & General Group Plc boosted its stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 1.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 9,005,569 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 102,905 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $1,292,479,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PEP. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in PepsiCo by 120.7% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 5,916,417 shares of the company’s stock valued at $830,902,000 after purchasing an additional 3,235,726 shares during the last quarter. Amundi grew its position in shares of PepsiCo by 30.0% during the third quarter. Amundi now owns 8,641,588 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,207,230,000 after acquiring an additional 1,995,362 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in PepsiCo by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 138,483,870 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,875,205,000 after purchasing an additional 1,612,652 shares during the period. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec lifted its holdings in PepsiCo by 151.7% in the third quarter. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec now owns 2,597,986 shares of the company’s stock worth $364,861,000 after purchasing an additional 1,565,883 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in PepsiCo by 406.0% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 1,789,959 shares of the company’s stock worth $256,895,000 after purchasing an additional 1,436,216 shares during the period. 73.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PEP opened at $150.57 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $154.17 and its 200 day moving average price is $152.52. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 52 week low of $127.60 and a 52 week high of $171.48. The company has a market capitalization of $205.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.90.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 15th. The company reported $1.61 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.55 by $0.06. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 56.61% and a net margin of 9.15%.The firm had revenue of $19.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.89 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.48 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, February 3rd that allows the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 4.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be issued a dividend of $1.48 per share. This represents a $5.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.9%. This is a boost from PepsiCo’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is 89.32%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on PEP shares. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $172.00 to $181.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $172.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $154.00 to $158.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their target price on PepsiCo from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $170.11.

Trending Headlines about PepsiCo

Here are the key news stories impacting PepsiCo this week:

• Positive Sentiment: PepsiCo extended and revised its licensing and bottling arrangements with Varun Beverages in India through 2049, while also giving the partner more freedom to pursue non-PepsiCo ventures. The longer-term deal should help protect distribution in a key growth market and reduce partnership uncertainty. Varun Beverages, PepsiCo revise licencing deal
• Positive Sentiment: PepsiCo is also being highlighted by market commentary as a strong growth stock and a defensive blue-chip income name, reinforcing investor interest in the company’s earnings stability and dividend profile. Here’s Why PepsiCo (PEP) is a Strong Growth Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: PepsiCo launched new products and initiatives, including a functional ready-to-drink tea and a greenhouse program in Asia-Pacific, which support its innovation story but are unlikely to move the stock on their own. PepsiCo adds functional RTD tea
• Neutral Sentiment: The company is also moving ahead with sustainability and regenerative agriculture efforts, which may help long-term brand positioning but are not immediate earnings catalysts. PepsiCo enters regen ag pact with LDC
• Negative Sentiment: Industry coverage continues to flag margin pressure from higher sugar, packaging and freight costs, along with tariff uncertainty. That backdrop could weigh on profitability for PepsiCo and other soft drink makers if costs stay elevated. 5 Soft Drinks Stocks to Track Amid Margin & Tariff Pressures
• Negative Sentiment: PepsiCo said it will raise prices on some smaller chip bags to offset increased costs. While this may help margins, it can also pressure volume and suggests inflation remains a headwind. Lay’s and Doritos maker to raise prices on small bags of chips

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.