PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) Shares Climb 1.5% – Still a Buy?

Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) rose 1.5% during mid-day trading on Wednesday. The company traded as high as $129.36 and last traded at $129.27. Approximately 9,358,536 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 15% from the average session volume of 8,114,548 shares. The stock had previously closed at $127.30.

PepsiCo News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting PepsiCo this week:

• Positive Sentiment: PepsiCo exceeded third-quarter 2026 revenue and earnings expectations, while its international operations continued to perform well. The stock’s valuation near 16 times earnings and dividend yield of approximately 4.7% could attract income-oriented investors. PepsiCo’s Earnings Beat Masks a Bigger Problem With Its North American Business
• Positive Sentiment: Freedom Broker upgraded PepsiCo from “hold” to “strong buy,” highlighting the potential for a recovery after the stock’s decline and its discounted valuation relative to major peers.
• Positive Sentiment: PepsiCo’s 54-year record of dividend increases and higher yield than Coca-Cola continue to support the investment case for defensive-income investors.
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent comparisons with Coca-Cola suggest PepsiCo offers more income, but Coca-Cola has stronger current execution after raising its earnings outlook. This may limit PepsiCo’s valuation recovery until growth improves. Coca-Cola vs. PepsiCo: Which Dividend King Deserves a Premium Valuation Right Now?
• Negative Sentiment: PepsiCo lowered its full-year growth outlook as North American beverage and snack volumes weakened and costs pressured margins. The guidance reduction overshadows the quarterly earnings beat and raises concerns about the pace of recovery. PepsiCo Trades Near 52-Week Low
• Negative Sentiment: Barclays cut its price target from $133 to $126 and maintained an “equal weight” rating. Erste Group Bank also reduced its FY2027 EPS estimate, reinforcing concerns about slower earnings growth.
• Negative Sentiment: PepsiCo reduced the potential earnout valuation tied to its Poppi acquisition, indicating that the prebiotic soda brand may be falling short of growth targets. The stock remains near its 52-week low, with investors questioning whether the weakness is fully priced in.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen lowered their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $145.00 to $133.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 28th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on PepsiCo from $159.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 2nd. Evercore decreased their price objective on PepsiCo from $150.00 to $135.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 30th. Bank of America lowered their target price on PepsiCo from $173.00 to $164.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their target price on PepsiCo from $161.00 to $150.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $145.50.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

The stock’s 50 day moving average is $134.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $142.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $176.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.24, a P/E/G ratio of 3.77 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.76.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 8th. The company reported $2.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.29 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $25.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $24.95 billion. PepsiCo had a net margin of 11.09% and a return on equity of 53.08%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.29 earnings per share. PepsiCo has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.344-8.425 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 4th were issued a dividend of $1.48 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 4th. This represents a $5.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.6%. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 74.37%.

Insider Activity at PepsiCo

In related news, EVP David Flavell sold 2,900 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 74,825 shares in the company, valued at $10,441,080.50. This trade represents a 3.73% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. raised its holdings in PepsiCo by 2.1% in the second 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 period. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 60,406,932 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,179,099,000 after buying an additional 987,582 shares during the period. Auto Owners Insurance Co increased its position in shares of PepsiCo by 14,857.8% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in PepsiCo by 0.6% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 21,283,701 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,305,146,000 after acquiring an additional 133,325 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi increased its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 16.8% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 11,444,671 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,777,243,000 after acquiring an additional 1,647,506 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

PepsiCo Company Profile

PepsiCo, Inc (NASDAQ:PEP) is a global food and beverage company that develops, manufactures, markets and distributes a broad portfolio of snacks, drinks and convenient foods. Its beverage brands include Pepsi, Mountain Dew, Gatorade, 7UP in select markets, and bubly, while its food and snack brands include Lay’s, Doritos, Cheetos, Tostitos, Fritos, Quaker and Ruffles.

The company’s operations include beverage production and distribution, snack foods, convenient meals and nutrition-oriented products.