VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al Makes New $73.36 Million Investment in PepsiCo, Inc. $PEP

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 541,816 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $73,362,000.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its position in PepsiCo by 13,502.8% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 285,677,210 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,680,694,000 after purchasing an additional 283,577,075 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. grew its position in PepsiCo by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 118,281,854 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,015,363,000 after purchasing an additional 2,440,377 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in PepsiCo by 1.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 59,499,819 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,356,155,000 after purchasing an additional 1,079,970 shares during the period. Auto Owners Insurance Co raised its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 14,857.8% in the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 49,252,907 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,068,777,000 after buying an additional 48,923,629 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 33,617,937 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,814,835,000 after buying an additional 360,936 shares during the period. 73.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PepsiCo News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting PepsiCo this week:

• Positive Sentiment: PepsiCo plans to build a Frito-Lay distribution warehouse near California’s Sonoma County airport. The facility could expand regional distribution capacity and support future sales growth. PepsiCo plans Frito-Lay distribution warehouse near Sonoma County airport
• Positive Sentiment: Publicis Groupe won PepsiCo’s global media account from Omnicom. The change may help PepsiCo modernize marketing, improve digital capabilities and respond more effectively to changing consumer preferences. PepsiCo hands global media to Publicis amid transformation at CPG giant
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and financial commentators see potential for a longer-term recovery, citing international momentum, a large buyback program and a portfolio overhaul. The thesis is more relevant to future valuation than to near-term earnings. Prediction: Pepsi Stock Could Surprise Wall Street in 2027
• Neutral Sentiment: PepsiCo’s dividend remains a major attraction for income investors, although reaching $25,000 in annual dividends would require a substantial investment and many shares. How many shares of PepsiCo are needed for $25,000 in yearly dividends
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent coverage compares PepsiCo with Coca-Cola as defensive consumer-staples investments. The comparison highlights PEP’s dividend history and business resilience but does not provide a clear new catalyst. PepsiCo versus Coca-Cola
• Negative Sentiment: Reports point to damage at a Ukrainian production facility and softer North American demand, raising concerns about near-term sales, costs and execution. PepsiCo faces Ukraine damage and soft demand
• Negative Sentiment: PepsiCo is emphasizing fresh-food innovation as consumers move away from processed snacks, signaling a need for investment and potential portfolio-transition risk. The global media-account switch may also create near-term execution costs. PepsiCo puts fresh foods in focus

Insider Buying and Selling at PepsiCo

In other PepsiCo news, EVP David Flavell sold 2,900 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.54, for a total value of $404,666.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 74,825 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,441,080.50. This represents a 3.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

Shares of PepsiCo stock opened at $137.63 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $187.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.35. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 52-week low of $133.73 and a 52-week high of $171.48. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $139.70 and its 200-day simple moving average is $148.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.91.

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

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 4th will be issued a $1.48 dividend. This represents a $5.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 4th. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 77.59%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on PepsiCo from $150.00 to $140.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 10th. Citigroup cut PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $170.00 to $145.00 in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $134.00 target price on PepsiCo in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on PepsiCo from $162.00 to $152.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, PepsiCo currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $157.90.

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.