PepsiCo, Inc. $PEP Shares Purchased by Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC

Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC raised its stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 1,763.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 64,787 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 61,310 shares during the period. PepsiCo accounts for approximately 1.5% of Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest position. Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $9,099,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. JCIC Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in PepsiCo during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC increased its position in PepsiCo by 107.1% during the second quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 234 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 121 shares during the period. Imprint Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in PepsiCo in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 667.7% in the third quarter. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC now owns 238 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 207 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on PEP shares. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of PepsiCo from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 7th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $148.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. BNP Paribas Exane set a $191.00 target price on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised 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. Eight research 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $169.00.

PepsiCo News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting PepsiCo this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Piper Sandler raised its price target on PepsiCo to $181 (from $172) and kept an Overweight rating, citing pricing power and innovation tailwinds — a clear analyst endorsement that can support the stock. Piper Sandler Stays Bullish
• Positive Sentiment: PepsiCo reached a settlement with activist Elliott Management and is executing an overhaul (cost cuts, ~20% portfolio pruning, supply-chain changes, leadership moves). Activist-driven operational changes often boost investor expectations for margin improvement and shareholder returns. Elliott-Driven Overhaul
• Positive Sentiment: Product expansion: PepsiCo launched “Good Warrior” protein-packed meat sticks, entering a fast-growing snacking category that could expand margins and diversify growth beyond beverages. Good Warrior Launch
• Neutral Sentiment: PepsiCo set the date to release Q1 2026 results on April 16 — a catalyst date for fresh guidance and performance details that could move the stock. Q1 Results Date
• Neutral Sentiment: Comparative analyst/features pieces (e.g., Coca‑Cola vs. PepsiCo) highlight PepsiCo’s faster dividend growth and larger revenue base but note efficiency advantages for Coke — useful framing but not an immediate price driver. Coca‑Cola vs PepsiCo Analysis
• Neutral Sentiment: Legislative note: A proposed bill to extend full SNAP to Puerto Rico (S.3958) could modestly affect beverage/snack demand there over long timeframes — worth monitoring but not immediate. Puerto Rico SNAP Bill
• Negative Sentiment: PepsiCo lost the NBA soft‑drink sponsorship to Coca‑Cola’s Sprite (Starry replaced), a visible branding setback in a key marketing channel that could dent promotional reach and investor sentiment. Sprite NBA Sponsorship
• Negative Sentiment: Shareholder litigation risk: Lowey Dannenberg launched an investigation into potential fiduciary breaches by PepsiCo’s board related to past pricing/antitrust claims — legal and governance risks can weigh on valuation until resolved. Shareholder Investigation

PepsiCo Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PEP opened at $156.50 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $157.42 and its 200 day moving average price is $149.84. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 1-year low of $127.60 and a 1-year high of $171.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The firm has a market cap of $213.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.39.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last announced 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 company had revenue of $29.34 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $28.96 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.96 EPS. PepsiCo’s quarterly revenue was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 EPS for the current year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

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

PepsiCo declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign 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.