Welch & Forbes LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. $PEP

Key Points

• Welch & Forbes LLC reduced its PepsiCo stake by 3.1% in the first quarter, selling 13,196 shares and ending with 415,977 shares valued at about $64.6 million.
• PepsiCo’s latest quarterly results beat expectations, with EPS of $2.20 and revenue of $24.18 billion, while the company also reaffirmed its full-year guidance.
• The company raised its dividend to $1.48 per share quarterly, giving it an annualized payout of $5.92 and a dividend yield of 4.3%, though analysts remain mostly at Hold with a consensus target price of $157.70.

Welch & Forbes LLC lessened its holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP - Free Report) by 3.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 415,977 shares of the company's stock after selling 13,196 shares during the period. Welch & Forbes LLC's holdings in PepsiCo were worth $64,597,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Auto Owners Insurance Co boosted its position in PepsiCo by 14,857.8% during the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 49,252,907 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,068,777,000 after acquiring an additional 48,923,629 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the 4th quarter worth $3,018,813,000. Diamant Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 16,146.5% during the 1st quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,586,423 shares of the company's stock worth $556,936,000 after purchasing an additional 3,564,348 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in PepsiCo by 120.7% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 5,916,417 shares of the company's stock valued at $830,902,000 after purchasing an additional 3,235,726 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi grew its stake in PepsiCo by 30.0% in the third quarter. Amundi now owns 8,641,588 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,207,230,000 after purchasing an additional 1,995,362 shares during the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on PEP shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $155.00 price target on shares of PepsiCo in a research report on Friday. HSBC boosted their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $175.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Evercore set a $150.00 target price on shares of PepsiCo in a research report on Thursday. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of PepsiCo from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, April 18th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on PepsiCo from $144.00 to $138.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, PepsiCo presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $157.70.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

Shares of PepsiCo stock traded down $0.48 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $137.38. The company had a trading volume of 9,071,253 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,517,085. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $145.42 and a 200 day simple moving average of $151.46. The stock has a market cap of $187.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.01, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.91. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 12-month low of $133.75 and a 12-month high of $171.48.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 9th. The company reported $2.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $24.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $23.95 billion. PepsiCo had a net margin of 10.78% and a return on equity of 54.63%. PepsiCo's revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.92 EPS. PepsiCo has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.550-8.710 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th were given a $1.48 dividend. This represents a $5.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was 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%.

Key Headlines Impacting PepsiCo

Here are the key news stories impacting PepsiCo this week:

• Positive Sentiment: PepsiCo’s Q2 revenue topped Wall Street estimates, supported by stronger international growth and improved volumes in some markets.
• Positive Sentiment: The company reaffirmed its full-year guidance, which can help reassure investors that the turnaround plan is still on track.
• Positive Sentiment: PepsiCo’s long dividend track record remains a draw for income investors, with the company continuing its streak of annual increases.
• Neutral Sentiment: Several firms, including RBC, TD Cowen, Wells Fargo, Citi, and others, lowered price targets after the report, but most still kept neutral or hold-type ratings. Citi Analyst Downgrades PepsiCo Stock (PEP) Despite Q2 Beat, Slashes Target by 15%
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts remain split between PepsiCo’s dividend/stability appeal and concerns about valuation, margin pressure, and a slow U.S. recovery. PepsiCo’s $200 Billion Stability Play Is Attracting Dividend Investors
• Negative Sentiment: Investors are worried that soft North American snack and beverage demand, plus higher commodity and fuel costs, could keep earnings momentum muted.
• Negative Sentiment: Media coverage compared PepsiCo unfavorably with Coca-Cola, highlighting market-share pressure and a more difficult turnaround narrative for PEP shares.

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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