Parallel Advisors LLC Acquires 15,517 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. $PEP

Key Points

• Parallel Advisors LLC increased its PepsiCo stake by 43.7% in Q3, buying 15,517 shares to hold 51,027 shares valued at about $7.17 million.
• PepsiCo posted a modest Q4 EPS beat with revenue up 5.6%, announced a quarterly dividend of $1.4225 (annualized yield ~3.6%), and authorized a $10.00 billion share repurchase plan.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed: the consensus rating is Hold with an average price target of $168.50 (8 Buys, 11 Holds, 1 Sell).

Parallel Advisors LLC grew its holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP - Free Report) by 43.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 51,027 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 15,517 shares during the quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC's holdings in PepsiCo were worth $7,166,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. JCIC Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the third quarter worth about $27,000. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of PepsiCo during the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 107.1% in the second quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 234 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC raised its position in PepsiCo by 667.7% in the 3rd quarter. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC now owns 238 shares of the company's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 207 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new position in PepsiCo during the 3rd quarter worth $37,000. Institutional investors own 73.07% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on PEP shares. Rothschild & Co Redburn boosted their target price on PepsiCo from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on PepsiCo from $156.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $190.00 target price on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Argus raised shares of PepsiCo to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, HSBC raised their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $152.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $168.50.

Key PepsiCo News

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

PepsiCo Trading Down 0.8%

PEP opened at $159.43 on Friday. The stock 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. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 12 month low of $127.60 and a 12 month high of $171.48. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $155.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $149.30.

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

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

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

PepsiCo announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan 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 plans are usually an indication that the company's board 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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