Merit Financial Group LLC Has $19.61 Million Stock Position in PepsiCo, Inc. $PEP

Key Points

• Merit Financial Group LLC increased its stake in PepsiCo by 12.2% in Q4 to 136,635 shares, representing a position worth $19.61 million.
• PepsiCo beat Q1 revenue and EPS (revenue $19.44B; EPS $1.61), with promotional price cuts and new product initiatives driving North America food volume growth and demand, though management's FY-2026 guidance is modest and analysts' consensus rating remains "Hold".
• The board authorized a $10.0 billion share repurchase program and pays an annualized dividend of $5.69 (~3.6% yield), while maintaining a high payout ratio (~94.8%).

Merit Financial Group LLC increased its stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP - Free Report) by 12.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 136,635 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 14,840 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC's holdings in PepsiCo were worth $19,610,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 3.6% in the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 554,798 shares of the company's stock valued at $77,916,000 after purchasing an additional 19,218 shares during the last quarter. Clayton Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PepsiCo during the 3rd quarter worth about $872,000. Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 622.3% during the 4th quarter. Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc. now owns 35,603 shares of the company's stock worth $5,110,000 after buying an additional 30,674 shares during the period. Kathmere Capital Management LLC grew its stake in PepsiCo by 122.6% in the 3rd quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 20,365 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,860,000 after buying an additional 11,217 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mediolanum International Funds Ltd raised its holdings in PepsiCo by 19.3% in the 3rd quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd now owns 252,916 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,451,000 after acquiring an additional 40,947 shares during the period. 73.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key PepsiCo News

Here are the key news stories impacting PepsiCo this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 beat on both revenue and EPS — PepsiCo reported $19.44B in revenue (up 8.5% YoY) and $1.61 non-GAAP EPS, topping Street estimates and signaling broad-based demand strength. PEP Q1 Deep Dive
• Positive Sentiment: Price cuts are working — Promotional price cuts (up to ~15% on value snack SKUs) drove the first North America food volume growth in over two years and helped win back shoppers, supporting near-term top-line momentum. Food companies are finally cutting prices
• Positive Sentiment: Brand and product initiatives gaining traction — PepsiCo highlighted innovations (Gatorade repositioning, new snack SKUs, energy/prebiotic soda strength) that management says are expanding occasions and helping sales recover. PepsiCo Q1 2026 Earnings Call Highlights
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst and press reaction is supportive — Coverage emphasizes the food-segment turnaround and productivity gains; some outlets call PepsiCo a discounted Dividend King with long-term appeal after the sell-off. 3 Magnificent Dividend Stocks the Sell-Off Has Put on Sale
• Neutral Sentiment: Sector sentiment also lifted by smaller peers — Positive earnings and outlooks from beverage peers boosted beverage-sector sentiment, indirectly supporting PEP shares. Zevia (ZVIA) Stock Trades Up
• Negative Sentiment: Guidance and margin read — PepsiCo reaffirmed FY-2026 EPS guidance but its revenue range sits modestly below some consensus estimates, and inflation/competitive dynamics could pressure margins as price restatements continue. (Company guidance and press release summarized in earnings coverage.) PepsiCo tops quarterly revenue estimates

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on PEP. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $190.00 to $186.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on PepsiCo from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on PepsiCo from $176.00 to $169.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Evercore upped their price objective on PepsiCo from $152.00 to $165.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on PepsiCo from $176.00 to $172.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Eight research 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 presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $168.16.

PepsiCo Stock Up 2.3%

Shares of NASDAQ PEP opened at $158.38 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $216.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.40, a PEG ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.40. The stock's fifty day moving average is $160.05 and its 200 day moving average is $151.46. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 52 week low of $127.60 and a 52 week high of $171.48. 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 (NASDAQ:PEP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 16th. The company reported $1.61 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.55 by $0.06. PepsiCo had a net margin of 8.77% and a return on equity of 57.92%. The business had revenue of $19.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $18.89 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.48 earnings per share. PepsiCo's revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. PepsiCo has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.465-8.628 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th were paid a $1.4225 dividend. This represents a $5.69 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 6th. PepsiCo's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 94.83%.

PepsiCo announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, February 3rd that allows the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to purchase up to 4.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is 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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