Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Takes Position in PepsiCo, Inc. $PEP

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. bought a new position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 224,176 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,353,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 2.1% during the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 118,281,854 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,015,363,000 after purchasing an additional 2,440,377 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its holdings in PepsiCo by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 59,499,819 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,356,155,000 after purchasing an additional 1,079,970 shares during the period. Auto Owners Insurance Co raised 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 purchasing an additional 48,923,629 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in PepsiCo by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 33,617,937 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,814,835,000 after buying an additional 360,936 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in PepsiCo by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 28,090,426 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,031,646,000 after buying an additional 295,955 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at PepsiCo

In related news, EVP David Flavell sold 2,900 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.54, for a total value of $404,666.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 74,825 shares in the company, valued at $10,441,080.50. This trade represents a 3.73% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Key PepsiCo News

Here are the key news stories impacting PepsiCo this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Jim Cramer highlighted PepsiCo as a defensive large-cap opportunity, citing its roughly 4% dividend yield and the potential benefit of lower oil prices. Cheaper fuel could support consumer spending and reduce transportation and operating costs. Jim Cramer Shares Why PepsiCo Caught His Eye During Consumer Headwinds
• Positive Sentiment: Investors remain attracted to PepsiCo’s 54-year record of consecutive dividend increases and comparatively reasonable valuation. Improving international results could help offset continuing weakness in North America, supporting the case for income-oriented investors. Most Investors Overlook This. I’m Buying PepsiCo for Its Dividend
• Positive Sentiment: PepsiCo is pursuing growth beyond its traditional snack portfolio by introducing and emphasizing global flavors, a strategy that could broaden consumer appeal and create new avenues for international growth. PepsiCo Bets on Global Flavors to Grow Beyond Snacks
• Neutral Sentiment: Commentary describing consumer staples as a lagging sector frames PepsiCo as a value opportunity rather than a near-term growth leader. The investment appeal depends on the stock’s discounted valuation, dividend support and execution on its recovery plans. The Consumer Staples Sector Is Lagging the S&P 500
• Negative Sentiment: Texas authorities are investigating PepsiCo and Kraft Heinz over claims involving avocado oil. The outcome and scope of the investigation are unclear, but regulatory scrutiny could create legal, reputational or product-related costs. PepsiCo, Kraft Heinz Under Investigation in Texas Over Avocado Oil Claims
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts note that PepsiCo’s dividend faces pressure from slower growth, persistent North American weakness and a more difficult recovery than the commodity-driven risks facing Chevron. This raises questions about future payout growth, despite the company’s long dividend history. Chevron or PepsiCo: Whose Dividend Is Standing on Thinner Ice?

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on PEP shares. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on PepsiCo from $162.00 to $152.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 10th. UBS Group set a $159.00 price target on PepsiCo in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $150.00 to $140.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $138.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $173.00 to $164.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $157.90.

PepsiCo Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:PEP opened at $141.07 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $192.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.49, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.91, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 0.93. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $139.86 and a 200-day moving average price of $149.51. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 52-week low of $133.73 and a 52-week high of $171.48.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 9th. The company reported $2.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $24.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.95 billion. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 54.63% and a net margin of 10.78%.The firm’s revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.92 earnings per share. PepsiCo has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.550-8.710 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 4th will be given a $1.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 4th. This represents a $5.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.2%. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.59%.

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.