HF Advisory Group LLC Acquires 28,309 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. $PEP

HF Advisory Group LLC lifted its stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 143.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 47,984 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 28,309 shares during the period. HF Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $6,887,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of PEP. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of PepsiCo by 120.7% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 5,916,417 shares of the company’s stock valued at $830,902,000 after buying an additional 3,235,726 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in PepsiCo by 112.6% during the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 4,040,079 shares of the company’s stock worth $533,452,000 after acquiring an additional 2,139,847 shares during the period. Amundi lifted its holdings in PepsiCo by 30.0% during the third quarter. Amundi now owns 8,641,588 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,207,230,000 after purchasing an additional 1,995,362 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in shares of PepsiCo by 60.2% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 5,051,114 shares of the company’s stock worth $709,378,000 after purchasing an additional 1,897,865 shares during the period. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 2,437.1% in the second quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 1,913,529 shares of the company’s stock worth $252,662,000 after purchasing an additional 1,838,108 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PEP has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $170.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on PepsiCo from $164.00 to $176.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on PepsiCo from $163.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $169.00.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

NASDAQ PEP opened at $154.65 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.67. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 1-year low of $127.60 and a 1-year high of $171.48. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $159.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $150.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $211.40 billion, a PE ratio of 25.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.39.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 2nd. The company reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.24 by $0.02. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 57.92% and a net margin of 8.77%.The business had revenue of $29.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $28.96 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.96 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th were issued a $1.4225 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 6th. This represents a $5.69 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.7%. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 94.83%.

PepsiCo declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Tuesday, February 3rd that authorizes the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 4.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Key PepsiCo News

Here are the key news stories impacting PepsiCo this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Defensive-sector flow could support PEP — Investors rotating into consumer staples as a defensive, dividend-paying hedge is boosting interest in PepsiCo given its low beta and steady payout. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Marketing and distribution momentum: Pepsi Football Nation and new venue supply deals deepen brand presence at live events and could lift beverage consumption and retail/promotional revenue over time. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Earnings-beat history supports expectations — Analysts and screens show PepsiCo’s track record of beating estimates, which underpins upside potential into the next quarterly report. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: China opportunity highlighted — A PepsiCo executive emphasized China’s dynamic consumer market and long-term growth potential, reinforcing international revenue tailwinds but with execution and timing caveats. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Varun Beverages (Pepsi bottler) announces final dividend record date — Signals healthy cash generation at an important franchise partner in India; limited direct impact on PEP but positive for regional ecosystem. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Small UK solar investment — A ~US$4.8m solar project for a UK distribution site supports sustainability and modest long-term cost savings; not material to near-term earnings. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Executive moves: a former PepsiCo exec joined a smaller natural-foods firm — notable for talent flow but unlikely to move PEP shares. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Deutsche Bank trims price target to $169 (from $176) and flags “mounting industry pressures” — the cut (though the Buy rating was reiterated) is weighing on sentiment as analysts call out margin and demand risks across beverages/foods. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Competitive debate with Coca?Cola — Some commentary continues to favor KO over PEP on valuation or brand metrics, which can pressure relative sentiment and multiple compression. Article Title

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.