Korea Investment CORP Buys 106,836 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. $PEP

Korea Investment CORP lifted its stake in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 10.7% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,106,456 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 106,836 shares during the quarter. Korea Investment CORP’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $155,391,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 1.3% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 136,936,037 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,081,034,000 after purchasing an additional 1,761,785 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in PepsiCo by 1.6% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 58,419,849 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,713,757,000 after purchasing an additional 920,045 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 32,675,492 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,301,240,000 after acquiring an additional 86,695 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 9.7% during the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 29,031,404 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,833,406,000 after purchasing an additional 2,556,163 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in PepsiCo during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,330,594,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting PepsiCo

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 Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of PEP stock opened at $159.43 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $217.89 billion, a PE ratio of 26.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.85. The business’s fifty day moving average is $155.04 and its 200 day moving average is $149.30. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 52-week low of $127.60 and a 52-week high of $171.48.

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

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

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PEP has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on PepsiCo from $154.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of PepsiCo from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, Evercore boosted their target price on PepsiCo from $152.00 to $165.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $168.50.

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.