Analysts Set PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) Target Price at $168.00

PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the twenty research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eleven have given a hold recommendation and eight have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $168.50.

PEP has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. HSBC raised their price target on PepsiCo from $152.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Argus upgraded PepsiCo to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on PepsiCo from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Evercore boosted their price objective on PepsiCo from $152.00 to $165.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $164.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th.

Institutional Trading of PepsiCo

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Clayton Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the third quarter valued at approximately $872,000. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its position in PepsiCo by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 185,961 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,554,000 after buying an additional 4,627 shares in the last quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC raised its stake in PepsiCo by 122.6% during the third quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 20,365 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,860,000 after buying an additional 11,217 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in PepsiCo by 11.7% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 12,659,046 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,671,500,000 after acquiring an additional 1,330,888 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amica Retiree Medical Trust purchased a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the second quarter worth $124,000. 73.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

PepsiCo Stock Down 0.8%

NASDAQ PEP opened at $159.43 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06. The company has a market cap of $217.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.57, a PEG ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a 50 day moving average of $155.04 and a 200-day moving average of $149.32. PepsiCo has a 1-year low of $127.60 and a 1-year high of $171.48.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 2nd. The company reported $2.26 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.24 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $29.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $28.96 billion. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 57.92% and a net margin of 8.77%.The company’s revenue was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.96 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that PepsiCo will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, February 3rd that allows the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 4.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be given a $1.4225 dividend. This represents a $5.69 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 94.83%.

Key PepsiCo News

Here are the key news stories impacting PepsiCo this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Product innovation and brand initiatives support long‑term growth — PepsiCo is rolling out Gatorade Lower Sugar nationwide, expanding poppi into the U.K., and using pop‑culture tie‑ins for bubly, signalling renewed focus on higher‑growth, “better‑for‑you” beverage categories that can help revenue/margin mix over time. PepsiCo Leans On Health Drinks And Pop Culture As Shares Lag Targets
• Positive Sentiment: Quarterly results and underlying sales growth remain supportive — post‑Q4 coverage discusses the modest EPS beat and revenue growth, reinforcing the company’s steady cash generation and dividend/ buyback capacity. This underpins investor confidence in the defensive consumer staple story. PepsiCo (PEP): Buy, sell, or hold post Q4 earnings?
• Positive Sentiment: Large bullish options activity suggests some traders expect a rally — unusually high call buying (vastly above average daily volume) can indicate speculative or hedged bullish interest that may fuel upward momentum if fundamentals or sentiment improve. (Note: internal market data)
• Neutral Sentiment: Income appeal remains a structural tailwind — dividend‑focused publications continue to highlight PepsiCo as a holding for yield/defensive exposure amid macro uncertainty, which can support the share price over time even if near‑term volatility occurs. The NASDAQ Dividend Stocks Retirees Are Loading Up On Before The Next Rate Cut
• Neutral Sentiment: Sector re‑rating conversations persist — consumer‑staples roundups list PepsiCo among stable dividend names; useful for longer‑term allocation but unlikely to trigger sharp immediate moves absent new data. 5 Consumer-Staples Stocks to Buy as the Market Gets Shakier
• Neutral Sentiment: Short interest update — recent reporting on short interest provides data investors watch for squeeze/pressure dynamics but by itself doesn’t change fundamentals. PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) Short Interest Update
• Negative Sentiment: Legal/investor‑litigation headline increases risk premium — a new investor alert around possible breaches of fiduciary duty draws attention to governance/legal risk that can pressure sentiment and valuation. PEPSICO, INC. INVESTOR ALERT: Scott+Scott … Investigates PepsiCo, Inc.’s Directors and Officers
• Negative Sentiment: Near‑term analyst/market skepticism — coverage noting that shares are “lagging targets” and articles flagging the stock among “unpopular” names highlight downward analyst pressure and sentiment risk, which can drive short‑term selling. 3 Unpopular Stocks with Open Questions
• Negative Sentiment: Price underperformance versus the market — headlines documenting a recent intraday dip show immediate selling pressure; combined with low average volume today, this can amplify moves on negative news. PepsiCo (PEP) Dips More Than Broader Market: What You Should Know

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.