Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas Buys 101,656 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. $PEP

Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas increased its stake in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 64.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 259,734 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 101,656 shares during the quarter. PepsiCo makes up about 2.0% of Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas’ portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas’ holdings in PepsiCo were worth $37,277,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. boosted its stake in PepsiCo by 59.3% during the fourth quarter. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. now owns 1,875 shares of the company’s stock worth $269,000 after acquiring an additional 698 shares in the last quarter. Texas Capital Bank Wealth Management Services Inc boosted its stake in PepsiCo by 38.0% during the fourth quarter. Texas Capital Bank Wealth Management Services Inc now owns 12,146 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,743,000 after acquiring an additional 3,345 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in PepsiCo by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 33,617,937 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,814,835,000 after acquiring an additional 360,936 shares in the last quarter. Coordinated Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in PepsiCo during the fourth quarter worth $431,000. Finally, Fidelis Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 12.8% in the fourth quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 18,443 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,647,000 after buying an additional 2,086 shares in the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

PepsiCo News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting PepsiCo this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Piper Sandler reaffirmed a Buy rating on PepsiCo with a $181 price target, suggesting analysts still see upside despite rising inflation concerns. Piper Sandler Sticks With Buy Rating on PepsiCo (PEP) Amid Inflation Concerns
• Positive Sentiment: PepsiCo is highlighting its product quality and marketing with new packaging that will carry a “no artificial flavours or colours” label, which could help reinforce consumer trust and support demand for its brands. PepsiCo new packaging to carry ‘no artificial flavours or colours’ label
• Neutral Sentiment: PepsiCo management said the company is emphasizing “hustle,” curiosity, and adaptability in hiring as AI reshapes talent needs. This is more of a workforce/culture update than an immediate earnings driver. As Amazon And Others Turn To AI Hiring Tools, PepsiCo Doubles Down On ‘Hustle’ And Curiosity
• Neutral Sentiment: Several analyst and industry pieces noted that PepsiCo’s valuation targets have been adjusted modestly and that the soft drink sector is facing tariff and cost pressures, but these updates were largely incremental rather than a major change in fundamentals. How The PepsiCo (PEP) Story Is Shifting As Analysts Rework Targets And Assumptions
• Negative Sentiment: One market report said PepsiCo stock underperformed peers on Tuesday, reflecting some relative weakness versus competitors even as broader sector themes remained mixed. PepsiCo Inc. stock underperforms Tuesday when compared to competitors

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. BNP Paribas Exane raised their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $191.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Barclays raised 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. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $180.00 to $183.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $190.00 to $186.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $170.11.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

Shares of PEP stock opened at $147.74 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $153.52 and a 200-day moving average of $152.63. The company has a market cap of $201.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.72. PepsiCo, Inc. has a one year low of $127.60 and a one year high of $171.48.

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

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be issued a $1.48 dividend. This is an increase from PepsiCo’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. This represents a $5.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is currently 89.32%.

PepsiCo announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, February 3rd that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 4.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.