Diversified Management Inc. Makes New Investment in PepsiCo, Inc. $PEP

Key Points

• Diversified Management Inc. established a new position in PepsiCo, purchasing 13,569 shares in Q4 valued at approximately $1.95 million.
• Several large institutions (AQR, Amundi, Assenagon, Caisse de dépôt, SG Americas) materially increased their PEP stakes, and institutional ownership now stands at 73.07%.
• Outlook is mixed: prediction markets and some analyst upgrades signal a possible Q1 earnings beat, but near‑term margin risk from price cuts, a Barclays price‑target cut and activist (Elliott) pressure raise execution concerns.

Diversified Management Inc. purchased a new position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 13,569 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,947,000.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of PEP. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in PepsiCo by 120.7% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 5,916,417 shares of the company's stock worth $830,902,000 after purchasing an additional 3,235,726 shares during the period. Amundi lifted its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 30.0% in the third quarter. Amundi now owns 8,641,588 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,207,230,000 after buying an additional 1,995,362 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 60.2% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 5,051,114 shares of the company's stock valued at $709,378,000 after buying an additional 1,897,865 shares in the last quarter. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec lifted its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 151.7% in the third quarter. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec now owns 2,597,986 shares of the company's stock valued at $364,861,000 after buying an additional 1,565,883 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 406.0% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 1,789,959 shares of the company's stock valued at $256,895,000 after buying an additional 1,436,216 shares in the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Stories Impacting 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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PEP has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $172.00 to $181.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $190.00 to $186.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Argus raised shares of PepsiCo to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $176.00 to $169.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, PepsiCo has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $168.16.

PepsiCo Price Performance

PEP opened at $154.85 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $211.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.81, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.40. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $160.23 and a 200 day moving average of $151.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.85. PepsiCo, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $127.60 and a fifty-two week high of $171.48.

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

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

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

PepsiCo declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Tuesday, February 3rd that authorizes the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 4.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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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