Guinness Asset Management LTD Purchases 363,201 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. $PEP

Guinness Asset Management LTD lifted its position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 29.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,585,557 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 363,201 shares during the quarter. PepsiCo accounts for 3.5% of Guinness Asset Management LTD’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest position. Guinness Asset Management LTD’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $222,248,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in PepsiCo in the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. JCIC Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in PepsiCo during the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC raised its holdings in PepsiCo by 107.1% in the second quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 234 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 667.7% during the 3rd quarter. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC now owns 238 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 207 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Frazier Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in PepsiCo by 85.3% during the second quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 265 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

PepsiCo Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of PEP stock opened at $167.53 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $147.22 and a 200-day simple moving average of $146.10. The company has a market cap of $228.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.92, a PEG ratio of 5.43 and a beta of 0.40. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 1-year low of $127.60 and a 1-year high of $168.01.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $29.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $28.96 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.96 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. PepsiCo has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.550-8.710 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th will be given a dividend of $1.4225 per share. This represents a $5.69 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is presently 94.83%.

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

More PepsiCo News

Here are the key news stories impacting PepsiCo this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 beat and reiterated guidance — Pepsi reported better-than-expected Q4 revenue and EPS, kept FY26 guidance, and management highlighted margin improvement and execution that helped the stock rally after earnings. Pepsi Pops as Investors Take Notice of Key Strategic Initiatives
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street lifts targets — Several firms raised PEP price targets (examples: Morgan Stanley to $180, JPMorgan to $176, UBS to $190, HSBC to $175), signaling analyst confidence that recent execution and initiatives improve the outlook. PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) Given New $180.00 Price Target at Morgan Stanley
• Positive Sentiment: Shareholder returns boosted — Board declared a higher quarterly dividend (5% increase) and the company announced a $10 billion share-repurchase program, supporting total-return appeal for income and activist-aligned investors. PepsiCo Declares Quarterly Dividend PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) to Repurchase $10.00 billion in Shares
• Positive Sentiment: Strategy shift to lift volumes and margins — Management is cutting and simplifying SKUs, investing in core brands, rolling out affordability (price cuts up to ~15% on some snacks) and pursuing productivity/automation savings to offset inflation — a coordinated plan investors view as constructive for growth and margin recovery. PepsiCo pivoting to snack affordability PepsiCo’s Productivity Strategy: A Catalyst for EPS Expansion?
• Neutral Sentiment: Price cuts follow consumer backlash — Management publicly acknowledged consumer pushback on recent snack pricing and is reducing prices on select SKUs to regain volume; outcome depends on execution and retailer cooperation. Pepsi will cut prices on Lay’s, Cheetos by as much as 15%
• Negative Sentiment: Margin and valuation risk flagged by some analysts — Critics say the rally is partly multiple expansion, volumes remain soft, and the planned price cuts could pressure margins; upside now depends on execution, raising risk for new buyers. PepsiCo: The Carbonation Is Out Of The Bottle – Strong Sell

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on PEP. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on PepsiCo from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $163.00 to $164.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 27th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $161.00 to $172.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $155.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, PepsiCo presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $167.28.

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.