Highland Capital Management LLC Reduces Position in PepsiCo, Inc. $PEP

Key Points

• Highland Capital Management LLC trimmed its stake in PepsiCo by 17.5% in Q4, selling 16,278 shares and retaining 76,497 shares worth approximately $10.98 million.
• PepsiCo beat recent quarterly EPS estimates ($1.61 vs. $1.55) with revenue up 8.5% to $19.44 billion, set FY2026 guidance of about 8.465–8.628 EPS, and authorized a $10 billion share buyback while paying a ~3.7% dividend yield.
• Analysts have raised price targets but the consensus remains a "Hold" with an average target of $170.26, and institutional investors own roughly 73.07% of the company's shares.

Highland Capital Management LLC decreased its stake in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP - Free Report) by 17.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 76,497 shares of the company's stock after selling 16,278 shares during the period. Highland Capital Management LLC's holdings in PepsiCo were worth $10,979,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,689,705 shares of the company's stock worth $242,506,000 after purchasing an additional 57,129 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 163,938 shares of the company's stock worth $23,528,000 after purchasing an additional 9,203 shares during the last quarter. TCI Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. TCI Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 14,807 shares of the company's stock worth $2,125,000 after purchasing an additional 599 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 54.7% during the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC now owns 37,386 shares of the company's stock worth $5,366,000 after purchasing an additional 13,214 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Headinvest LLC boosted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Headinvest LLC now owns 35,336 shares of the company's stock worth $5,071,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.07% of the company's stock.

More PepsiCo News

Here are the key news stories impacting PepsiCo this week:

• Positive Sentiment: UBS reiterated a Buy on PEP and highlighted strong earnings momentum, backing a $186 price target — a bullish signal that supports the stock’s medium-term valuation and could limit downside from short-term noise. UBS Highlights Strong Earnings Momentum for PepsiCo (PEP)
• Positive Sentiment: Management’s productivity and cost-savings initiatives are being emphasized as a key buffer against inflationary pressure — this reduces earnings risk and supports margin resilience if input costs rise. Can Productivity Savings Shield PepsiCo From Inflation Pressures?
• Positive Sentiment: Product innovation and portfolio expansion (Tostitos refrigerated dips, Pure Leaf Mental Focus sparkling teas, MUG/Quaker collaborations) broaden growth levers and help drive incremental revenue in higher-margin formats. Investors view new SKUs and cross-brand bundles as supportive for top-line momentum. PepsiCo Balances Human Rights Scrutiny With Health Focused Product Expansion
• Positive Sentiment: Gatorade’s “Body of Science” multi-year research commitment targets women’s hydration needs — a meaningful brand and R&D investment that can deepen category leadership and support future product commercialization. Gatorade Unveils "Body of Science"
• Neutral Sentiment: Dividend-focused write-ups continue to include PepsiCo as a reliable dividend compounder, which supports long-term investor demand but has limited immediate impact on intraday moves. 10 Years, Zero Regrets: The Dividend Stocks I Keep Buying
• Negative Sentiment: A shareholder proposal seeks more detailed reporting on human-rights policy effectiveness and due diligence; governance scrutiny ahead of the annual meeting can create uncertainty and headline risk that depresses sentiment. PepsiCo Balances Human Rights Scrutiny With Health Focused Product Expansion
• Negative Sentiment: One roundup included PEP among “unpopular” names receiving downbeat forecasts, which can prompt tactical selling by momentum or quant funds and add selling pressure even if fundamentals remain intact. 3 Unpopular Stocks We Keep Off Our Radar

PepsiCo Price Performance

Shares of PepsiCo stock opened at $154.59 on Tuesday. PepsiCo, Inc. has a twelve month low of $127.60 and a twelve month high of $171.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $211.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.27, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98. The business's fifty day moving average price is $157.96 and its 200 day moving average price is $152.43.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 16th. The company reported $1.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.55 by $0.06. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 56.61% and a net margin of 9.15%.The firm had revenue of $19.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $18.89 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.48 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. PepsiCo has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.465-8.628 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.63 earnings per share for the current year.

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

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The business 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 6th. This represents a $5.69 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.7%. PepsiCo's dividend payout ratio is presently 89.32%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on PEP. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on PepsiCo from $172.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, April 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on PepsiCo from $169.00 to $173.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 17th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on PepsiCo from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Rothschild & Co Redburn lifted their target price on PepsiCo from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on PepsiCo from $180.00 to $183.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 17th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, PepsiCo has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $170.26.

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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