Rep. Julia Letlow Purchases Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Representative Julia Letlow (Republican-Louisiana) recently bought shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP). In a filing disclosed on March 12th, the Representative disclosed that they had bought between $1,001 and $15,000 in PepsiCo stock on February 5th. The trade occurred in the Representative’s “MERRILL LYNCH INVESTMENT ACCOUNT #025” account.

Representative Julia Letlow also recently made the following trade(s):

• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) on 2/20/2026.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of BXP (NYSE:BXP) on 2/20/2026.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of HF Sinclair (NYSE:DINO) on 2/20/2026.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Vistra (NYSE:VST) on 2/17/2026.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE:PEG) on 2/17/2026.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Expand Energy (NASDAQ:EXE) on 2/17/2026.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Take-Two Interactive Software (NASDAQ:TTWO) on 2/12/2026.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) on 2/12/2026.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) on 2/12/2026.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:REGN) on 2/12/2026.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

PEP stock traded up $1.14 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $151.73. 4,976,682 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,660,717. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 1 year low of $127.60 and a 1 year high of $171.48. The company has a market cap of $207.36 billion, a PE ratio of 25.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.39. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $158.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $149.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.67.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last issued 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. PepsiCo had a net margin of 8.77% and a return on equity of 57.92%. The business had revenue of $29.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $28.96 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.96 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 is Friday, March 6th. This represents a $5.69 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.8%. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 94.83%.

PepsiCo declared 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 typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Trading of PepsiCo

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PEP. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in PepsiCo by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 138,483,870 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,875,205,000 after buying an additional 1,612,652 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 1.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 59,499,819 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,356,155,000 after acquiring an additional 1,079,970 shares during the last quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co lifted its position in shares of PepsiCo by 14,857.8% in the fourth 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. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 33,617,937 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,814,835,000 after acquiring an additional 360,936 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position 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 worth $3,833,406,000 after purchasing an additional 2,556,163 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PEP has been the topic of several analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $156.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Rothschild & Co Redburn increased their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on PepsiCo from $154.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. HSBC upped their price target on PepsiCo from $152.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on PepsiCo from $163.00 to $164.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $169.00.

PepsiCo News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting PepsiCo this week:

• Positive Sentiment: PepsiCo launched a global “Pepsi Football Nation” platform to deepen fan engagement around football — a large, event-driven marketing push that can boost brand visibility, seasonal sales and promotional leverage. PepsiCo launches global ‘Pepsi Football Nation’ platform focused on fan culture
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst/upbeat coverage: Zacks highlights PepsiCo as a long‑term growth stock citing consistent brand strength and growth initiatives — supportive for investor sentiment. Why PepsiCo (PEP) is a Top Growth Stock for the Long-Term
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend‑income appeal: inclusion among recommended “beaten‑down dividend aristocrats” keeps income‑focused buyers interested in PEP’s yield and defensive profile. 3 Beaten-Down Dividend Aristocrats to Scoop Up While Wall Street Chases AI Stocks Into a Cliff
• Positive Sentiment: Sector dynamic: reporting that Coca‑Cola faces 2026 margin pressure could be a relative positive for PepsiCo if PepsiCo can maintain pricing/actions while Coke lags. Coca-Cola Faces Margin Pressure: Can Pricing Power Hold?
• Neutral Sentiment: Investment thesis nuance: a Yahoo Finance piece discusses how PepsiCo’s investment story is shifting around pricing and 2026 growth expectations — useful context but mixed for near‑term price action. How The PepsiCo (PEP) Investment Story Is Shifting On Pricing And 2026 Growth Hopes
• Neutral Sentiment: Short‑interest reports circulating show “significant increases” but list zero shares and 0.0 days to cover — this appears to be a data glitch and should not be treated as actionable.
• Neutral Sentiment: Corporate/community items (PepsiCo Foundation partnership with SUNY Westchester) are positive for ESG/PR but unlikely to move near‑term fundamentals. SUNY Westchester Community College and the PepsiCo Foundation Highlight Student Pathways to Career Success
• Neutral Sentiment: Miscellaneous sector/competitor stories and unrelated company news (e.g., Reed’s CEO change, snack‑discontinuation chatter) create background noise but have limited direct impact on PEP unless tied to category supply/portfolio shifts. Reed’s CEO steps down, COO named interim chief

About Representative Letlow

Julia Letlow (Republican Party) is a member of the U.S. House, representing Louisiana’s 5th Congressional District. She assumed office on April 14, 2021. Her current term ends on January 3, 2027.

Letlow (Republican Party) is running for re-election to the U.S. House to represent Louisiana’s 5th Congressional District. She declared candidacy for the primary scheduled on November 3, 2026.

Julia Letlow earned a doctorate. Letlow’s career experience includes working as a senior administrator with the University of Louisiana at Monroe.

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.