Heritage Wealth Advisors Sells 263,498 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. $PEP

Key Points

• Heritage Wealth Advisors sold 263,498 PepsiCo shares in Q3, trimming its stake by 93.2% to 19,265 shares valued at $2.706 million at the end of the period.
• PepsiCo posted a slight Q4 earnings beat (EPS $2.26 vs. $2.24) with revenue of $29.34 billion (up 5.6% YoY), and its board approved a $10 billion share repurchase plan while declaring a quarterly dividend of $1.4225 (about a 3.6% yield).
• Analyst sentiment is mixed: the consensus rating is "Hold" with an average target of $168.50, though several firms have recently raised targets to roughly $165 and one upgraded the stock to a "Buy"; institutional ownership stands near 73%.

Heritage Wealth Advisors trimmed its stake in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP - Free Report) by 93.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 19,265 shares of the company's stock after selling 263,498 shares during the quarter. Heritage Wealth Advisors' holdings in PepsiCo were worth $2,706,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 43.7% during the 3rd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 51,027 shares of the company's stock worth $7,166,000 after buying an additional 15,517 shares during the last quarter. Obsidian Personal Planning Solutions LLC grew its stake in PepsiCo by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Obsidian Personal Planning Solutions LLC now owns 5,516 shares of the company's stock valued at $806,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC grew its stake in PepsiCo by 8.4% in the 3rd quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 51,977 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,300,000 after buying an additional 4,045 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its holdings in PepsiCo by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 659,903 shares of the company's stock valued at $92,677,000 after acquiring an additional 9,951 shares during the period. Finally, Graney & King LLC lifted its position in PepsiCo by 9.3% during the third quarter. Graney & King LLC now owns 1,194 shares of the company's stock worth $168,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on PEP. Evercore upped their target price on PepsiCo from $152.00 to $165.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Friday, January 9th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on PepsiCo from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Wall Street Zen upgraded PepsiCo from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on PepsiCo from $156.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Eight investment 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.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $168.50.

PepsiCo Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:PEP opened at $159.43 on Friday. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $155.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $149.30. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 1 year low of $127.60 and a 1 year high of $171.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The company has a market capitalization of $217.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.57, a P/E/G ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.39.

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

PepsiCo declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, February 3rd that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 4.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th will be given a dividend of $1.4225 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. This represents a $5.69 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.6%. PepsiCo's dividend payout ratio is currently 94.83%.

PepsiCo News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting PepsiCo this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Product innovation and brand initiatives support long‑term growth — PepsiCo is rolling out Gatorade Lower Sugar nationwide, expanding poppi into the U.K., and using pop‑culture tie‑ins for bubly, signalling renewed focus on higher‑growth, “better‑for‑you” beverage categories that can help revenue/margin mix over time. PepsiCo Leans On Health Drinks And Pop Culture As Shares Lag Targets
• Positive Sentiment: Quarterly results and underlying sales growth remain supportive — post‑Q4 coverage discusses the modest EPS beat and revenue growth, reinforcing the company’s steady cash generation and dividend/ buyback capacity. This underpins investor confidence in the defensive consumer staple story. PepsiCo (PEP): Buy, sell, or hold post Q4 earnings?
• Positive Sentiment: Large bullish options activity suggests some traders expect a rally — unusually high call buying (vastly above average daily volume) can indicate speculative or hedged bullish interest that may fuel upward momentum if fundamentals or sentiment improve. (Note: internal market data)
• Neutral Sentiment: Income appeal remains a structural tailwind — dividend‑focused publications continue to highlight PepsiCo as a holding for yield/defensive exposure amid macro uncertainty, which can support the share price over time even if near‑term volatility occurs. The NASDAQ Dividend Stocks Retirees Are Loading Up On Before The Next Rate Cut
• Neutral Sentiment: Sector re‑rating conversations persist — consumer‑staples roundups list PepsiCo among stable dividend names; useful for longer‑term allocation but unlikely to trigger sharp immediate moves absent new data. 5 Consumer-Staples Stocks to Buy as the Market Gets Shakier
• Neutral Sentiment: Short interest update — recent reporting on short interest provides data investors watch for squeeze/pressure dynamics but by itself doesn’t change fundamentals. PepsiCo, Inc. NASDAQ: PEP Short Interest Update
• Negative Sentiment: Legal/investor‑litigation headline increases risk premium — a new investor alert around possible breaches of fiduciary duty draws attention to governance/legal risk that can pressure sentiment and valuation. PEPSICO, INC. INVESTOR ALERT: Scott+Scott ... Investigates PepsiCo, Inc.'s Directors and Officers
• Negative Sentiment: Near‑term analyst/market skepticism — coverage noting that shares are “lagging targets” and articles flagging the stock among “unpopular” names highlight downward analyst pressure and sentiment risk, which can drive short‑term selling. 3 Unpopular Stocks with Open Questions
• Negative Sentiment: Price underperformance versus the market — headlines documenting a recent intraday dip show immediate selling pressure; combined with low average volume today, this can amplify moves on negative news. PepsiCo (PEP) Dips More Than Broader Market: What You Should Know

About PepsiCo

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding PEP? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.