Principle Wealth Partners LLC Buys 6,045 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. $PEP

Principle Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 32.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 24,759 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,045 shares during the period. Principle Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $3,553,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in PEP. MH & Associates Securities Management Corp ADV bought a new position in PepsiCo in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Imprint Wealth LLC bought a new position in PepsiCo in the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Strategic Advocates LLC bought a new position in PepsiCo in the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in PepsiCo in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Highline Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in PepsiCo by 56.3% in the 4th quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 250 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about PepsiCo

Here are the key news stories impacting PepsiCo this week:

• Positive Sentiment: PepsiCo extended and revised its licensing and bottling arrangements with Varun Beverages in India through 2049, while also giving the partner more freedom to pursue non-PepsiCo ventures. The longer-term deal should help protect distribution in a key growth market and reduce partnership uncertainty. Varun Beverages, PepsiCo revise licencing deal
• Positive Sentiment: PepsiCo is also being highlighted by market commentary as a strong growth stock and a defensive blue-chip income name, reinforcing investor interest in the company’s earnings stability and dividend profile. Here’s Why PepsiCo (PEP) is a Strong Growth Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: PepsiCo launched new products and initiatives, including a functional ready-to-drink tea and a greenhouse program in Asia-Pacific, which support its innovation story but are unlikely to move the stock on their own. PepsiCo adds functional RTD tea
• Neutral Sentiment: The company is also moving ahead with sustainability and regenerative agriculture efforts, which may help long-term brand positioning but are not immediate earnings catalysts. PepsiCo enters regen ag pact with LDC
• Negative Sentiment: Industry coverage continues to flag margin pressure from higher sugar, packaging and freight costs, along with tariff uncertainty. That backdrop could weigh on profitability for PepsiCo and other soft drink makers if costs stay elevated. 5 Soft Drinks Stocks to Track Amid Margin & Tariff Pressures
• Negative Sentiment: PepsiCo said it will raise prices on some smaller chip bags to offset increased costs. While this may help margins, it can also pressure volume and suggests inflation remains a headwind. Lay’s and Doritos maker to raise prices on small bags of chips

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on PEP. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $172.00 to $181.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $165.00 to $163.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $169.00 to $173.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $180.00 to $183.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $170.11.

PepsiCo Price Performance

Shares of PEP opened at $150.57 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $205.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.38. PepsiCo, Inc. has a twelve month low of $127.60 and a twelve month high of $171.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98. The company has a 50 day moving average of $154.17 and a two-hundred day moving average of $152.45.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) 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. The company had revenue of $19.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.89 billion. PepsiCo had a net margin of 9.15% and a return on equity of 56.61%. PepsiCo’s revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.48 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be issued a $1.48 dividend. This is an increase from PepsiCo’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. This represents a $5.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is 89.32%.

PepsiCo declared that its board has initiated 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 buy up to 4.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.