Covington Investment Advisors Inc. Sells 5,568 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. $PEP

Covington Investment Advisors Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 20.8% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 21,207 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,568 shares during the period. Covington Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $2,871,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of PEP. Evergreen Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in PepsiCo in the first quarter valued at $25,000. Gunpowder Capital Management LLC dba Oliver Wealth Management acquired a new position in PepsiCo during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Swiss RE Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Atlatl Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Osterweis Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the second quarter valued at about $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on PEP. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on PepsiCo from $180.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $155.00 target price on shares of PepsiCo in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Citigroup lowered shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $170.00 to $145.00 in a report on Friday, July 10th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $162.00 to $152.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn increased their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $130.00 to $132.00 in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, PepsiCo currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $157.90.

Trending Headlines about PepsiCo

Here are the key news stories impacting PepsiCo this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America reaffirmed a Neutral rating but maintained a $152 price target, implying potential upside from the recent trading level. The firm cited international strength as an offset to weakness in PepsiCo’s North American operations. PepsiCo analyst rating
• Positive Sentiment: Recent commentary highlights PepsiCo’s dividend appeal, defensive consumer-staples exposure and management’s reiterated revenue-growth targets. Its valuation and roughly higher yield than Coca-Cola may attract income-oriented investors, although the company still faces execution risks. PepsiCo revenue-growth targets
• Positive Sentiment: PepsiCo signed a seven-year, multimillion-dollar partnership with Arizona Athletic Grounds as its official soft-drink provider, supporting brand visibility and long-term distribution. Arizona Athletic Grounds partnership
• Neutral Sentiment: PepsiCo joined Mondel?z and pladis in a circular-packaging trial using watermarking technology. The initiative may improve sustainability credentials, but its near-term financial impact is unclear. Circular packaging trial
• Negative Sentiment: PepsiCo confirmed damage at a Ukrainian production facility following conflict-related events. No injuries were reported, but possible disruption, repair costs and lost production add uncertainty. Ukraine plant damage
• Negative Sentiment: Soft North American demand and category pressure remain the main concern. Analysts note snack-market share gains and beverage resilience, but investors are watching whether weakness is temporary or structural. PepsiCo North America demand
• Negative Sentiment: PepsiCo is reportedly cutting 105 warehouse jobs as part of additional U.S. distribution changes. The actions could improve efficiency, but also reinforce concerns about slowing demand and ongoing restructuring. Warehouse job cuts
• Negative Sentiment: The Obesity Action Coalition urged PepsiCo to continue employee coverage for GLP-1 obesity medicines. The dispute creates potential reputational and employee-relations risks, though the direct financial effect is uncertain. GLP-1 coverage dispute

Insider Transactions at PepsiCo

In related news, EVP David Flavell sold 2,900 shares of PepsiCo stock in a transaction on Monday, July 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.54, for a total value of $404,666.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 74,825 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,441,080.50. This trade represents a 3.73% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

Shares of PepsiCo stock opened at $140.52 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $139.77 and a 200 day simple moving average of $148.81. PepsiCo, Inc. has a one year low of $133.73 and a one year high of $171.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.91, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $191.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.42, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.35.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 9th. The company reported $2.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.01. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 54.63% and a net margin of 10.78%.The business had revenue of $24.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.95 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.92 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. PepsiCo has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.550-8.710 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 4th will be issued a $1.48 dividend. This represents a $5.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 4th. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 77.59%.

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.