PepsiCo, Inc. $PEP Shares Bought by Welch Group LLC

Key Points

• Welch Group LLC increased its PepsiCo stake by 4.0% in the first quarter, buying 13,215 more shares and bringing its total to 339,979 shares worth about $52.8 million.
• PepsiCo continues to draw broad institutional interest, with hedge funds and other institutions owning 73.07% of the stock and several large investors recently adding to or initiating positions.
• The company recently raised its quarterly dividend to $1.48 per share from $1.42, extending its long-running dividend growth record and offering a 4.2% annualized yield.

Welch Group LLC raised its stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP - Free Report) by 4.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 339,979 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 13,215 shares during the period. PepsiCo makes up approximately 2.0% of Welch Group LLC's holdings, making the stock its 27th largest holding. Welch Group LLC's holdings in PepsiCo were worth $52,795,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Auto Owners Insurance Co raised its holdings in PepsiCo by 14,857.8% during the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 49,252,907 shares of the company's stock worth $7,068,777,000 after purchasing an additional 48,923,629 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in PepsiCo in the fourth quarter valued at $3,018,813,000. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of PepsiCo by 120.7% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 5,916,417 shares of the company's stock valued at $830,902,000 after buying an additional 3,235,726 shares in the last quarter. Amundi raised its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 30.0% during the 3rd quarter. Amundi now owns 8,641,588 shares of the company's stock worth $1,207,230,000 after buying an additional 1,995,362 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of PepsiCo by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 138,483,870 shares of the company's stock worth $19,875,205,000 after buying an additional 1,612,652 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.07% of the company's stock.

Key Stories Impacting PepsiCo

Here are the key news stories impacting PepsiCo this week:

• Positive Sentiment: PepsiCo’s brand and growth efforts are getting fresh visibility, including marketing around “modern soda,” dirty-soda products, and broader consumer engagement. These trends could support beverage demand and help the company defend share in a changing soft-drink market.
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support remains constructive overall: Citigroup kept a Buy rating even after trimming its price target to $170, implying meaningful upside from current levels. That helps reassure investors that the stock still looks attractively valued despite recent weakness.
• Positive Sentiment: PepsiCo continues to stand out as a diversified dividend stock, with coverage highlighting its 54-year streak of dividend growth. For income-oriented investors, that long track record can provide support ahead of earnings. Article Title

PepsiCo Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PEP opened at $141.39 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $193.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.35. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $148.40 and a 200-day simple moving average of $152.01. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 52 week low of $128.11 and a 52 week high of $171.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The company reported $1.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 analyst estimates of $18.89 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.48 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.62 EPS for the current year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be issued a $1.48 dividend. This is a boost from PepsiCo's previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $5.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.2%. PepsiCo's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 92.94%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PEP has been the subject of several recent research reports. Evercore raised their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $165.00 to $170.00 in a report on Friday, April 17th. Citigroup cut their price objective on PepsiCo from $182.00 to $170.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Bank of America reduced their target price on PepsiCo from $173.00 to $164.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Wall Street Zen cut PepsiCo from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, April 18th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of PepsiCo in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Eight investment 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 MarketBeat, PepsiCo has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $166.85.

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.

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