Aviva PLC Boosts Stock Holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. $PEP

Key Points

• Aviva PLC boosted its PepsiCo stake by 8.7% in the fourth quarter, holding 1,605,162 shares worth about $230.4 million as of its latest filing.
• PepsiCo is drawing attention for operational and strategic moves, including an expanded driverless trucking partnership with Gatik and a sustainability-focused financing pilot with Compeer Financial.
• The company reported better-than-expected quarterly results and raised its dividend to $1.48 per share quarterly, lifting the annualized yield to about 4.1%, even as the stock remains under pressure and analysts maintain a consensus Hold rating.

Aviva PLC increased its position in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP - Free Report) by 8.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,605,162 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 128,419 shares during the period. Aviva PLC owned approximately 0.12% of PepsiCo worth $230,373,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PEP. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in PepsiCo by 12.4% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 59,392 shares of the company's stock worth $9,031,000 after purchasing an additional 6,574 shares in the last quarter. Caxton Associates LLP purchased a new position in PepsiCo in the first quarter valued at about $251,000. Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in PepsiCo by 138.5% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,527 shares of the company's stock valued at $862,000 after buying an additional 3,790 shares in the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. increased its holdings in PepsiCo by 10.1% in the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 38,164 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,039,000 after buying an additional 3,502 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. increased its holdings in PepsiCo by 45.5% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 536,133 shares of the company's stock valued at $70,789,000 after buying an additional 167,707 shares in the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key PepsiCo News

Here are the key news stories impacting PepsiCo this week:

• Positive Sentiment: PepsiCo is expanding its autonomous trucking partnership with Gatik, now using fully driverless freight operations across Texas, Arizona, and Arkansas to help ease labor shortages in hard-to-staff parts of its supply chain. How PepsiCo’s Driverless Freight Rollout With Gatik (PEP) Has Changed Its Investment Story
• Positive Sentiment: PepsiCo is also partnering with Compeer Financial on a strip-till equipment financing pilot that helps farmers adopt soil conservation practices, reinforcing the company’s sustainability image and relationships with agricultural suppliers. Compeer Financial Collaborates with PepsiCo to Provide Strip-Till Equipment Financing
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst commentary continues to frame PepsiCo as a long-term growth and dividend holding, with several recent pieces highlighting valuation support and rebound potential. Why PepsiCo (PEP) is a Top Growth Stock for the Long-Term
• Neutral Sentiment: Management is continuing to promote PepsiCo’s women’s sports sponsorship and consumer engagement strategy as a growth driver, which supports the brand narrative but is not an immediate earnings catalyst. BIS: PepsiCo’s Carolyn Braff on women’s sports being a key growth driver
• Neutral Sentiment: Erste Group slightly trimmed its FY2027 EPS estimate for PepsiCo, but the revision was minimal and did not materially change the broader earnings outlook. PepsiCo, Inc. Stock Overview
• Negative Sentiment: The stock remains pressured by investor caution after recent trading weakness and a valuation that has come down from its highs, suggesting the market is waiting for stronger near-term growth or margin improvement. PepsiCo Steps Up Autonomous Freight Use As Valuation Gap Persists

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on PEP shares. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Rothschild & Co Redburn increased their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $130.00 to $132.00 in a report on Monday, May 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $172.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, April 17th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $190.00 to $186.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $172.00 to $181.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Eight equities research 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $168.25.

PepsiCo Stock Down 0.4%

PEP stock opened at $143.73 on Friday. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $151.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is $152.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $196.45 billion, a PE ratio of 22.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.35. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 12 month low of $127.60 and a 12 month high of $171.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.72.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The company reported $1.61 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.55 by $0.06. PepsiCo had a net margin of 9.15% and a return on equity of 56.61%. The business had revenue of $19.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.89 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.48 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th will be given a dividend of $1.48 per share. This represents a $5.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.1%. This is an increase from PepsiCo's previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. PepsiCo's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 92.94%.

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.

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