PepsiCo, Inc. $PEP Shares Sold by Assenagon Asset Management S.A.

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management S.A. cut its PepsiCo stake by 81.1% in the first quarter, selling more than 1.5 million shares and ending with 353,018 shares valued at about $54.8 million.
• Analyst sentiment on PepsiCo remains mixed: several firms lowered price targets, and MarketBeat says the stock currently carries a Hold consensus with an average target of $166.85.
• PepsiCo continues to lean on its dividend appeal, recently raising its quarterly payout to $1.48 per share for a 4.2% yield, while its latest earnings beat expectations on both EPS and revenue.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. reduced its stake in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP - Free Report) by 81.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 353,018 shares of the company's stock after selling 1,515,151 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.'s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $54,820,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Gunpowder Capital Management LLC dba Oliver Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Swiss RE Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of PepsiCo during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. MH & Associates Securities Management Corp ADV purchased a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Imprint Wealth LLC acquired a new position in PepsiCo in the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Strategic Advocates LLC purchased a new position in PepsiCo during the third quarter worth approximately $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.07% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PEP has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on PepsiCo from $160.00 to $150.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $173.00 to $164.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $173.00 to $168.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $154.00 to $158.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $190.00 to $186.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, PepsiCo has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $166.85.

PepsiCo News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting PepsiCo this week:

• Positive Sentiment: PepsiCo remains a long-term income favorite, with a 54-year streak of dividend increases that reinforces its defensive profile for investors. The upcoming earnings report will be watched to see whether that streak can continue. Buy This Dividend King with a 54-Year Streak Before July 9
• Positive Sentiment: Citigroup kept a buy rating on PepsiCo while lowering its target price to $170 from $182, implying meaningful upside from current levels despite the reduction. Citigroup price target update
• Neutral Sentiment: Bank of America cut its price target to $164 from $173 and maintained a neutral stance, citing slower PFNA recovery. That suggests the stock still has upside potential, but near-term recovery may be slower than hoped. Bank of America target cut and neutral rating
• Neutral Sentiment: Wall Street is looking for PepsiCo’s Q2 2026 earnings to show only modest EPS growth, so the upcoming report could be a key catalyst if results or guidance surprise in either direction. PepsiCo's Q2 2026 Earnings: What to Expect
• Neutral Sentiment: News that Hershey hired a former PepsiCo executive for a U.S. president role is more of an executive-mobility story than a direct operating issue for PepsiCo, so it likely has limited immediate stock impact. Hershey taps PepsiCo executive for US president role
• Negative Sentiment: PepsiCo’s stock has been weakening recently, and multiple articles point to investor caution ahead of earnings and pressure from valuation concerns, which helps explain the downside in the shares. PepsiCo stock weighing DCF upside against recent share price weakness

PepsiCo Trading Down 1.9%

Shares of PEP stock opened at $139.52 on Friday. PepsiCo, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $127.60 and a fifty-two week high of $171.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.90. The stock's fifty day moving average is $148.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $152.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $190.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.90, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.35.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP - Get Free Report) last released its 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. The business had revenue of $19.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.89 billion. PepsiCo had a net margin of 9.15% and a return on equity of 56.61%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.48 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 represents a $5.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. This is a positive change from PepsiCo's previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. PepsiCo's payout ratio is currently 92.94%.

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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