PepsiCo, Inc. $PEP Shares Sold by Arax Advisory Partners

Key Points

• Arax Advisory Partners sharply cut its PepsiCo stake, selling 199,263 shares in the fourth quarter and reducing its position by 88.6% to 25,531 shares worth about $3.66 million.
• Institutional ownership remains high, with major holders like Vanguard, State Street, Geode, and Charles Schwab all adding to their positions; institutions and hedge funds now own 73.07% of PepsiCo shares.
• PepsiCo reported strong quarterly results, beating EPS and revenue estimates, and also raised its quarterly dividend to $1.48 per share, implying a 4.1% annualized yield.

Arax Advisory Partners lowered its position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP - Free Report) by 88.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 25,531 shares of the company's stock after selling 199,263 shares during the quarter. Arax Advisory Partners' holdings in PepsiCo were worth $3,662,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PEP. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of PepsiCo by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 138,483,870 shares of the company's stock valued at $19,875,205,000 after buying an additional 1,612,652 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in PepsiCo by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 59,499,819 shares of the company's stock worth $8,356,155,000 after purchasing an additional 1,079,970 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in PepsiCo by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 33,617,937 shares of the company's stock worth $4,814,835,000 after purchasing an additional 360,936 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in PepsiCo by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 28,090,426 shares of the company's stock worth $4,031,646,000 after purchasing an additional 295,955 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in PepsiCo in the 4th quarter worth about $3,018,813,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.07% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on PEP. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $180.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 17th. BNP Paribas Exane upped their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $191.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $169.00 to $173.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of PepsiCo in a research report on Thursday. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $143.00 price target on the stock. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their price target on PepsiCo from $165.00 to $150.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $167.35.

Key PepsiCo News

Here are the key news stories impacting PepsiCo this week:

• Positive Sentiment: PepsiCo continues to expand its autonomous freight network with Gatik, a move that could improve logistics efficiency and help address staffing challenges in hard-to-serve routes. How PepsiCo’s Driverless Freight Rollout With Gatik (PEP) Has Changed Its Investment Story
• Positive Sentiment: The company also highlighted sustainability-focused farmer financing through Compeer Financial, which supports PepsiCo’s supply chain and long-term agricultural sourcing strategy. Compeer Financial Collaborates with PepsiCo to Provide Strip-Till Equipment Financing
• Neutral Sentiment: PepsiCo was included in a Q1 review of beverage, alcohol, and tobacco stocks, but the article was primarily a peer comparison and did not indicate a major new catalyst. Beverages, Alcohol, and Tobacco Stocks Q1 In Review: PepsiCo NASDAQ: PEP Vs Peers
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst estimate changes were modest, with Erste Group trimming FY2027 EPS slightly to $9.14 from $9.15, suggesting limited impact on the outlook.
• Negative Sentiment: TD Cowen cut its price target on PepsiCo to $150 from $165 and kept a hold rating, signaling more cautious near-term sentiment on the stock. TD Cowen adjusts PepsiCo price target to 150 from 165
• Negative Sentiment: Piper Sandler also lowered its price target on PepsiCo to $178 from $181, reinforcing the view that analysts see only limited upside from here. Piper Sandler adjusts price target on PepsiCo to 178 from 181

PepsiCo Stock Performance

Shares of PEP opened at $144.27 on Monday. The company's fifty day moving average is $151.11 and its 200-day moving average is $152.41. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 12 month low of $127.60 and a 12 month high of $171.48. The firm has a market cap of $197.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.35. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The company reported $1.61 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.55 by $0.06. PepsiCo had a net margin of 9.15% and a return on equity of 56.61%. The company had revenue of $19.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.89 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.48 EPS. PepsiCo's quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.63 EPS for the current fiscal 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 given a $1.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $5.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.1%. This is a positive change from PepsiCo's previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. PepsiCo's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 92.94%.

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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