Swiss National Bank Reduces Stock Position in PepsiCo, Inc. $PEP

Key Points

• Swiss National Bank reduced its PepsiCo stake by 5.2% in the fourth quarter, selling 205,300 shares and ending with 3,746,900 shares valued at about $537.8 million.
• Despite that trim, PepsiCo remains heavily owned by institutions, with several large funds increasing positions and overall institutional ownership at 73.07%.
• PepsiCo beat quarterly earnings expectations, raised its dividend to $1.48 per share, and now offers an annualized yield of about 4.1%; analysts currently rate the stock a consensus Hold.

Swiss National Bank cut its holdings in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP - Free Report) by 5.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,746,900 shares of the company's stock after selling 205,300 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned approximately 0.27% of PepsiCo worth $537,755,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of PEP. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in PepsiCo during the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,018,813,000. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in PepsiCo by 120.7% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 5,916,417 shares of the company's stock worth $830,902,000 after purchasing an additional 3,235,726 shares during the last quarter. Amundi increased its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 1,995,362 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in PepsiCo by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 138,483,870 shares of the company's stock worth $19,875,205,000 after purchasing an additional 1,612,652 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec grew its position in shares of PepsiCo by 151.7% in the 3rd quarter. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec now owns 2,597,986 shares of the company's stock worth $364,861,000 after acquiring an additional 1,565,883 shares in the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on PEP. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on PepsiCo from $172.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Argus upgraded PepsiCo to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on PepsiCo in a research report on Thursday. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $143.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price 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. Finally, HSBC lifted their target price on PepsiCo from $175.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, PepsiCo presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $168.25.

PepsiCo Trading Down 0.4%

NASDAQ:PEP opened at $143.73 on Friday. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 12-month low of $127.60 and a 12-month high of $171.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $196.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $151.32 and a 200 day simple moving average of $152.42.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 15th. The company reported $1.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $19.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.89 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.48 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.63 EPS for the current year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th will be given a dividend of $1.48 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $5.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.1%. This is an increase from PepsiCo's previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. PepsiCo's payout ratio is presently 92.94%.

Key PepsiCo News

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

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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