West Family Investments Inc. Boosts Stock Position in PepsiCo, Inc. $PEP

West Family Investments Inc. boosted its stake in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 102.2% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 8,304 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,197 shares during the period. West Family Investments Inc.’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $1,166,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. lifted its stake in PepsiCo by 9.7% during the second quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 152,193 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,096,000 after purchasing an additional 13,517 shares during the last quarter. Clayton Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in PepsiCo during the third quarter worth approximately $872,000. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. lifted its position in shares of PepsiCo by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 185,961 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,554,000 after buying an additional 4,627 shares during the last quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 122.6% in the 3rd quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 20,365 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,860,000 after buying an additional 11,217 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in PepsiCo by 11.7% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 12,659,046 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,671,500,000 after acquiring an additional 1,330,888 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

PepsiCo News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting PepsiCo this week:

• Positive Sentiment: PepsiCo raised its dividend again (4%), extending a multi-decade payout streak — supports income investors and signals confidence in cash flow. PepsiCo raises dividend
• Positive Sentiment: PepsiCo tied regenerative farming research with the National Geographic Society to boost sustainable sourcing for snacks — can lower long-term input risk and support branded-snack growth. PepsiCo ties regenerative farming
• Positive Sentiment: New product collaboration (Jack Link’s x DORITOS® Nacho Cheese beef jerky/meat sticks) expands snack formats and co-branding opportunities in higher-margin snack categories. Jack Link’s and PepsiCo launch
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple reports highlight PepsiCo’s digital/AI scaling (enterprise tech report, Forbes feature) — technology and e?commerce initiatives could drive efficiency and revenue expansion over time. PepsiCo’s digital/AI blueprint Enterprise Technology Analysis Report
• Positive Sentiment: Proxy suit over animal welfare was halted after PepsiCo relented on the shareholder proposal — removes a near-term governance/legal overhang and reduces activist uncertainty. Animal welfare proxy suit halted
• Neutral Sentiment: PepsiCo is pushing social engagement (TikTok creators) to boost brand relevance with younger consumers — marketing lift matters but is a medium-term play. PepsiCo turns to TikTok stars
• Neutral Sentiment: Industry comparisons: pieces comparing PepsiCo (diversified snacks + beverages) to Coca?Cola and noting Keurig Dr Pepper’s strategic moves provide valuation and competitive context but aren’t immediate catalysts for PEP. PepsiCo vs. Coca?Cola Keurig Dr Pepper split plan
• Negative Sentiment: Short interest jumped ~25.5% in February to ~29.7M shares (?2.2% of float; 2.6 days to cover) — indicates some traders are positioning for downside or disappointed expectations, which can amplify near-term volatility.
• Negative Sentiment: Analyses note PepsiCo has underperformed the Nasdaq over the past year — relative weakness may attract more defensive positioning and weighs on sentiment until growth beats peers. Is PepsiCo underperforming?

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PEP has been the topic of a number of research reports. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $170.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Evercore upped their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $152.00 to $165.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $190.00 target price on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. HSBC boosted their price target on PepsiCo from $152.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane set a $191.00 price objective on PepsiCo in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $168.00.

PepsiCo Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PEP opened at $169.17 on Thursday. 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 business’s fifty day moving average price is $152.36 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $148.52. The stock has a market cap of $231.20 billion, a PE ratio of 28.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.40. PepsiCo, Inc. has a one year low of $127.60 and a one year high of $171.48.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 2nd. The company reported $2.26 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.24 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $29.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $28.96 billion. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 57.92% and a net margin of 8.77%.The firm’s revenue was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.96 EPS. On average, analysts forecast 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be issued a $1.4225 dividend. This represents a $5.69 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is 94.83%.

PepsiCo declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program 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 programs are generally a sign 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.