PepsiCo, Inc. $PEP Shares Sold by Colonial Trust Co SC

Key Points

• Colonial Trust Co SC cut its PepsiCo stake by 21.5% in the fourth quarter, selling 6,973 shares and leaving it with 25,427 shares valued at about $3.65 million.
• PepsiCo reported better-than-expected quarterly results, earning $1.61 per share on revenue of $19.44 billion, while revenue rose 8.5% year over year. Analysts now expect the company to post 8.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $1.48 per share, or $5.92 annualized, for a yield of about 4.1%. At the same time, PepsiCo is expanding initiatives like driverless freight with Gatik and sustainability-focused farm financing partnerships.

Colonial Trust Co SC reduced its position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP - Free Report) by 21.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 25,427 shares of the company's stock after selling 6,973 shares during the quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC's holdings in PepsiCo were worth $3,649,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its position in shares of PepsiCo by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 554,798 shares of the company's stock worth $77,916,000 after purchasing an additional 19,218 shares in the last quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd boosted its position in shares of PepsiCo by 11.4% during the 4th quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 415,271 shares of the company's stock worth $59,600,000 after purchasing an additional 42,335 shares in the last quarter. Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc. boosted its position 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 purchasing an additional 30,674 shares in the last quarter. Allstate Corp boosted its position in shares of PepsiCo by 108.1% during the 4th quarter. Allstate Corp now owns 104,723 shares of the company's stock worth $15,030,000 after purchasing an additional 54,405 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NEOS Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of PepsiCo by 65.8% during the 3rd quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC now owns 577,111 shares of the company's stock worth $81,049,000 after purchasing an additional 229,121 shares in the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PepsiCo News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting PepsiCo this week:

• Positive Sentiment: PepsiCo is expanding its autonomous trucking partnership with Gatik, now using fully driverless freight operations across Texas, Arizona, and Arkansas to help ease labor shortages in hard-to-staff parts of its supply chain. How PepsiCo’s Driverless Freight Rollout With Gatik (PEP) Has Changed Its Investment Story
• Positive Sentiment: PepsiCo is also partnering with Compeer Financial on a strip-till equipment financing pilot that helps farmers adopt soil conservation practices, reinforcing the company’s sustainability image and relationships with agricultural suppliers. Compeer Financial Collaborates with PepsiCo to Provide Strip-Till Equipment Financing
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst commentary continues to frame PepsiCo as a long-term growth and dividend holding, with several recent pieces highlighting valuation support and rebound potential. Why PepsiCo (PEP) is a Top Growth Stock for the Long-Term
• Neutral Sentiment: Management is continuing to promote PepsiCo’s women’s sports sponsorship and consumer engagement strategy as a growth driver, which supports the brand narrative but is not an immediate earnings catalyst. BIS: PepsiCo’s Carolyn Braff on women’s sports being a key growth driver
• Neutral Sentiment: Erste Group slightly trimmed its FY2027 EPS estimate for PepsiCo, but the revision was minimal and did not materially change the broader earnings outlook. PepsiCo, Inc. Stock Overview
• Negative Sentiment: The stock remains pressured by investor caution after recent trading weakness and a valuation that has come down from its highs, suggesting the market is waiting for stronger near-term growth or margin improvement. PepsiCo Steps Up Autonomous Freight Use As Valuation Gap Persists

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on PEP. Barclays lifted their price target on PepsiCo from $154.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. UBS Group cut their price target on PepsiCo from $190.00 to $186.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on PepsiCo from $172.00 to $181.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on PepsiCo from $180.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on PepsiCo in a research note on Thursday. They set a "market perform" rating and a $143.00 price target for the company. Eight 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $168.25.

PepsiCo Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of PEP stock opened at $143.73 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $151.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $152.42. PepsiCo, Inc. has a twelve month low of $127.60 and a twelve month high of $171.48. The company has a market capitalization of $196.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.56, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The company reported $1.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $19.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.89 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.48 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th will be paid a $1.48 dividend. This represents a $5.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. This is a positive change from PepsiCo's previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. PepsiCo's dividend payout ratio is presently 92.94%.

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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