PepsiCo, Inc. $PEP Shares Purchased by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 3.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 1,689,705 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 57,129 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $242,506,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its position in PepsiCo by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 163,938 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,528,000 after purchasing an additional 9,203 shares during the last quarter. TCI Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. TCI Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 14,807 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,125,000 after purchasing an additional 599 shares during the period. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC grew its holdings in PepsiCo by 54.7% during the 4th quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC now owns 37,386 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,366,000 after purchasing an additional 13,214 shares in the last quarter. Headinvest LLC increased its stake in PepsiCo by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Headinvest LLC now owns 35,336 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,071,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc. lifted its holdings in PepsiCo by 39.8% in the 4th quarter. Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc. now owns 57,170 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,205,000 after buying an additional 16,265 shares in the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Headlines Impacting PepsiCo

Here are the key news stories impacting PepsiCo this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Competitive Q1 showing vs. Coca?Cola — analysis notes PepsiCo leaned on snacks, international resilience and an “affordability reset” to revive North American volumes, widening a gap with Coca?Cola and supporting revenue diversification. PepsiCo vs Coca-Cola: A Decade-Long Fight for Dominance
• Positive Sentiment: Productivity and cost savings seen as a hedge against inflation — Zacks highlights management’s multi-pronged productivity program (cost efficiencies, supply-chain optimization, disciplined overhead) that supports margins and EPS guidance. Can Productivity Savings Shield PepsiCo From Inflation Pressures?
• Positive Sentiment: New low?carbon fertilizer attribute agreement with TalusAg — a sustainability/supply?chain move that may reduce long?term input?cost and ESG risk; it’s PepsiCo’s first executed transaction of this type. PepsiCo and TalusAg Announce Low-carbon Ammonia Attribute Agreement
• Positive Sentiment: Brand and product innovation — Gatorade’s multi?year “Body of Science” research and new product launches (Tostitos refrigerated dips, Pure Leaf Mental Focus sparkling teas, Quaker protein SKUs) support long?term growth and portfolio expansion. Gatorade Unveils “Body of Science” PepsiCo Balances Human Rights Scrutiny With Health Focused Product Expansion
• Positive Sentiment: Partnerships boosting adjacent categories — coverage on Celsius notes Pepsi partnerships (distribution/marketing) that help expand energy?category exposure without heavy capex. This supports top?line optionality. Will Celsius Holdings Stock Extend Its Earnings Beat Streak in Q1?
• Positive Sentiment: Investor income appeal — recent dividend?focused writeups list PepsiCo among steady dividend names, supporting demand from income investors. 10 Years, Zero Regrets: The Dividend Stocks I Keep Buying
• Neutral Sentiment: Retail/market lists and “best consumer staples” features — inclusion in consumer?staples roundups can provide marketing lift but usually has limited immediate price impact. Best Consumer Staples Stocks to Buy in 2026
• Neutral Sentiment: Broader negative-themed roundup that mentions “unpopular stocks” — unless the piece singles out PepsiCo with fresh downgrades, these lists tend to have limited direct impact. 3 Unpopular Stocks We Keep Off Our Radar
• Negative Sentiment: Shareholder proposal on human?rights reporting — a governance/ESG proposal seeking more detailed effectiveness reporting is gaining attention ahead of the annual meeting; could raise compliance and disclosure expectations and pressure sentiment if voting outcomes are contentious. PepsiCo Balances Human Rights Scrutiny With Health Focused Product Expansion

PepsiCo Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ PEP opened at $155.04 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $157.76 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $152.46. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 52-week low of $127.60 and a 52-week high of $171.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $211.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.34, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.38.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 16th. The company reported $1.61 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.55 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $19.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.89 billion. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 56.61% and a net margin of 9.15%.The business’s revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.48 EPS. PepsiCo has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.465-8.628 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo declared that its board has initiated 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 repurchase up to 4.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PEP has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Rothschild & Co Redburn lifted their price objective on PepsiCo from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on PepsiCo from $169.00 to $173.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 17th. BNP Paribas Exane raised their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $191.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price target 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, PepsiCo currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $170.26.

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.