J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG Acquires 16,255 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. $PEP

J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG lifted its stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 4.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 369,029 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 16,255 shares during the period. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $52,963,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. JCIC Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in PepsiCo in the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Imprint Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Strategic Advocates LLC acquired a new stake in PepsiCo during the third quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC grew its position in PepsiCo by 667.7% during the third quarter. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC now owns 238 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 207 shares in the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on PEP shares. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $190.00 price target on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Argus upgraded PepsiCo to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. TD Cowen upped their target price on PepsiCo from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Wall Street Zen raised PepsiCo from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $169.00.

PepsiCo Stock Up 2.5%

NASDAQ PEP opened at $156.82 on Tuesday. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 1-year low of $127.60 and a 1-year high of $171.48. The company has a market capitalization of $214.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.14, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.39. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $159.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $150.25. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last issued its earnings results on Monday, February 2nd. The company reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.24 by $0.02. The business 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%.PepsiCo’s quarterly revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.96 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be paid a dividend of $1.4225 per share. This represents a $5.69 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is currently 94.83%.

PepsiCo announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, February 3rd that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 4.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Key Stories Impacting PepsiCo

Here are the key news stories impacting PepsiCo this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Deutsche Bank kept a Buy rating while trimming its price target to $169 — a modest cut but still implies meaningful upside, giving investors a near-term price anchor and supporting buying interest. Deutsche Bank price target note (Benzinga)
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple outlets profile PepsiCo as a defensive shelter for volatile markets (outperforming the S&P YTD, strong dividend profile), boosting demand from risk-averse and income-focused investors. This coverage reinforces sector-rotation flows into consumer staples. Seeking Shields from Volatility? (Zacks)
• Neutral Sentiment: Media comparisons with Coca?Cola on dividend quality and business mix highlight both strengths (snacks + international growth) and tradeoffs (N. America pressure). Informative for investors but not an immediate catalyst. PepsiCo vs Coca?Cola: The Better Dividend Stock (24/7 Wall St.)
• Neutral Sentiment: PepsiCo’s sustainability/ESG involvement (speakers at industry summits) supports longer-term brand and risk-management narratives but is unlikely to move the stock near-term. Sustainability LIVE: The US Summit (Yahoo)
• Negative Sentiment: Fundamental headwinds in North America and a modest March pullback underscore margin and growth concerns; analysts remain cautious overall, so upside depends on execution and macro stability. This keeps some investors more selective despite the defensive narrative. PepsiCo Could Climb 10% to $169 (24/7 Wall St.)

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.