Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC Lowers Stock Position in PepsiCo, Inc. $PEP

Key Points

• Cornerstone Wealth Group cut its stake in PepsiCo by 30.9% in Q4, selling 25,699 shares and finishing with 57,358 shares valued at about $8.23 million.
• Several large institutions (State Street, Invesco, Amundi, Legal & General, Fisher) largely increased their PepsiCo holdings, and institutional/hedge fund ownership totals about 73.07% of the stock.
• PepsiCo recently beat quarterly estimates (EPS $2.26 vs. $2.24; revenue $29.34B vs. $28.96B), pays a $1.4225 quarterly dividend (annualized $5.69, ~3.7% yield) with a high payout ratio (~94.8%), and approved a $10B share buyback while analysts hold a consensus "Hold" rating with a $168.16 target.

Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC cut its position in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP - Free Report) by 30.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 57,358 shares of the company's stock after selling 25,699 shares during the period. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC's holdings in PepsiCo were worth $8,232,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in PepsiCo by 1.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 59,499,819 shares of the company's stock worth $8,356,155,000 after buying an additional 1,079,970 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in PepsiCo by 7.6% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 13,617,747 shares of the company's stock worth $1,912,476,000 after buying an additional 958,701 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its holdings in PepsiCo by 1.3% during the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 8,902,664 shares of the company's stock worth $1,250,290,000 after buying an additional 118,286 shares in the last quarter. Amundi boosted its holdings in PepsiCo by 30.0% during the third quarter. Amundi now owns 8,641,588 shares of the company's stock worth $1,207,230,000 after buying an additional 1,995,362 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in PepsiCo by 2.0% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,112,038 shares of the company's stock worth $1,139,255,000 after buying an additional 155,636 shares in the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about PepsiCo

Here are the key news stories impacting PepsiCo this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Prediction markets are pricing in a strong chance of an earnings beat for Q1 (Polymarket shows high beat probability), which could buoy the stock if results and commentary meet expectations. PepsiCo Earnings Prediction Market Preview: What Will Ramon Laguarta Say?
• Positive Sentiment: Several analysts have revised forecasts ahead of the call, raising odds of a positive post‑earnings reaction if guidance and margins are stable. PepsiCo Likely To Report Higher Q1 Earnings; These Most Accurate Analysts Revise Forecasts Ahead Of Earnings Call
• Positive Sentiment: Celebrity/influencer support: Jim Cramer publicly said he’s impressed with PepsiCo’s handling of demand shifts (GLP‑1 era), which can help sentiment among retail investors. Jim Cramer Notes He is Impressed With “Pepsi’s Dealing With the Travails of Processed Food and the Year of GLP-1”
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend reliability and yield continue to be a structural positive for investors seeking income, highlighted in recent commentary about long‑term shareholder returns. Early Pepsi stock investors now earn a 10% dividend yield
• Neutral Sentiment: Multiple earnings previews and “everything to know” pieces set expectations for Q1 revenue around ~$18.9B and EPS ~ $1.54–1.55; these previews keep attention on guidance and margin commentary rather than creating new catalysts. PepsiCo (PEP) Reports Q1: Everything You Need To Know Ahead Of Earnings
• Neutral Sentiment: Previews note expected higher Q1 sales following price cuts — that supports top‑line momentum but leaves the market focused on whether margin recovery follows. PepsiCo Expected to Post Higher 1Q Sales Following Price Cuts -- Earnings Preview
• Negative Sentiment: Barclays trimmed its price target to $154 and kept an Equal‑Weight rating, signaling limited near‑term upside and adding downward pressure on sentiment. Barclays adjusts PepsiCo price target to $154 from $160, maintains Equal Weight rating
• Negative Sentiment: Price cuts and product revamps aim to stimulate demand but raise near‑term margin risk — Barron’s and Seeking Alpha flag margins and Frito‑Lay volume issues as key risk areas for the print. PepsiCo Cuts Prices, Revamps Products. Earnings Will Show if It's Working.
• Negative Sentiment: Corporate/legal overhang: PepsiCo settled an EEOC lawsuit related to a fired blind worker, a reputational/legal item that may modestly weigh on sentiment. PepsiCo Settles EEOC Lawsuit on Behalf of Fired Blind Worker
• Negative Sentiment: Activist pressure (Elliott) increases scrutiny — coverage notes PepsiCo must show the Elliott‑triggered turnaround is working, adding execution risk if results or guidance disappoint. PepsiCo faces pressure to show Elliott-triggered turnaround is working

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $170.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. TD Cowen increased their price objective 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 price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. BNP Paribas Exane set a $191.00 price objective on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $176.00 to $172.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $168.16.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

PEP opened at $154.85 on Thursday. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $160.23 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $151.41. The company has a market cap of $211.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.81, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 52-week low of $127.60 and a 52-week high of $171.48.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, February 2nd. The company reported $2.26 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.24 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $29.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $28.96 billion. PepsiCo had a net margin of 8.77% and a return on equity of 57.92%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.96 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th were given a $1.4225 dividend. This represents a $5.69 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 6th. PepsiCo's dividend payout ratio is 94.83%.

PepsiCo announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, February 3rd that allows the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 4.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.

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