Wellspring Financial Advisors LLC Boosts Stake in PepsiCo, Inc. $PEP

Wellspring Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 242.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 6,090 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,313 shares during the period. Wellspring Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $876,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. MH & Associates Securities Management Corp ADV purchased a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Imprint Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Strategic Advocates LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Evolution Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 47.8% in the 4th quarter. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. now owns 232 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on PEP shares. HSBC boosted their price objective on PepsiCo from $175.00 to $176.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on PepsiCo from $180.00 to $183.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 17th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on PepsiCo from $172.00 to $181.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on PepsiCo from $165.00 to $163.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $169.58.

PepsiCo Trading Up 1.1%

NASDAQ:PEP opened at $144.32 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $151.55 and a 200-day simple moving average of $152.44. The stock has a market cap of $197.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.35. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 1 year low of $127.60 and a 1 year high of $171.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.90.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 15th. The company reported $1.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.55 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $19.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.89 billion. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 56.61% and a net margin of 9.15%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.48 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be given a dividend of $1.48 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $5.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.1%. This is an increase from PepsiCo’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is currently 92.94%.

Key Headlines Impacting PepsiCo

Here are the key news stories impacting PepsiCo this week:

• Positive Sentiment: PepsiCo expanded its driverless delivery network across three states, signaling continued investment in automation that could reduce logistics costs and improve distribution efficiency. PepsiCo Expands Driverless Delivery Network Across Three States, Including Texas
• Positive Sentiment: The company began commercial driverless deliveries, reinforcing that the autonomous trucking initiative is now operational rather than just experimental. PepsiCo begins driverless deliveries
• Positive Sentiment: PepsiCo’s driverless Doritos and beverage fleet has drawn positive market attention as a sign of execution in autonomous logistics and potential cost savings. Branding for Buyout©: A New Playbook for the Food Industry
• Neutral Sentiment: Erste Group trimmed its FY2027 EPS estimate slightly to $9.14 from $9.15, which is not a meaningful change but still reflects cautious analyst expectations.
• Neutral Sentiment: Several articles repeated the bullish driverless-truck story and other commentary, but they are largely reiterations rather than new fundamental developments.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts currently rate PepsiCo around “Hold,” suggesting the stock still has a balanced risk/reward profile despite the recent positive headlines. PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

About PepsiCo

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.