Vest Financial LLC Reduces Position in PepsiCo, Inc. $PEP

Key Points

• Vest Financial LLC reduced its stake in PepsiCo by 13.7% in Q4, selling 55,405 shares and ending the quarter with 349,279 shares valued at about $50.13 million.
• PepsiCo beat quarterly estimates (EPS $1.61 vs. $1.55; revenue $19.44B vs. $18.89B), set FY2026 guidance of 8.465–8.628 EPS, and authorized a $10 billion share buyback.
• Analysts hold a consensus "Hold" rating with a target price of $170.26; the stock trades near $154 with a P/E around 24 and a dividend yield of about 3.7%.

Vest Financial LLC lessened its position in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP - Free Report) by 13.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 349,279 shares of the company's stock after selling 55,405 shares during the quarter. Vest Financial LLC's holdings in PepsiCo were worth $50,129,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JCIC Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. MH & Associates Securities Management Corp ADV purchased a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Imprint Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Strategic Advocates LLC purchased a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.07% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on PEP shares. BNP Paribas Exane lifted their target price on PepsiCo from $191.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 17th. HSBC raised their price target on PepsiCo from $175.00 to $176.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 17th. Barclays raised their price target on PepsiCo from $154.00 to $158.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Argus raised PepsiCo to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on PepsiCo from $170.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $170.26.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

Shares of PEP stock opened at $154.10 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $158.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $152.30. The stock has a market cap of $210.62 billion, a PE ratio of 24.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.40. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 1 year low of $127.60 and a 1 year 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.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 16th. The company reported $1.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $18.89 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.48 earnings per share. PepsiCo's revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. PepsiCo has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.465-8.628 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, February 3rd that authorizes the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 4.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th were issued a $1.4225 dividend. This represents a $5.69 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 6th. PepsiCo's payout ratio is 89.32%.

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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