Blair William & Co. IL Lowers Holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. $PEP

Blair William & Co. IL trimmed its position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 503,639 shares of the company’s stock after selling 13,691 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $70,731,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PEP. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in PepsiCo in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. JCIC Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in PepsiCo in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 107.1% in the 2nd 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 last quarter. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of PepsiCo by 667.7% during the 3rd quarter. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC now owns 238 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 207 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of PepsiCo during the 3rd quarter worth $37,000. Institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories 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 Stock Performance

NASDAQ PEP opened at $159.43 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $155.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $149.30. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 12-month low of $127.60 and a 12-month high of $171.48. The firm has a market cap of $217.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.57, a PEG ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06.

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

PepsiCo declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, February 3rd that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 4.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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 given a $1.4225 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. This represents a $5.69 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.6%. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is presently 94.83%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PEP has been the subject of several research reports. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $170.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. 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 research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on PepsiCo from $156.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on PepsiCo from $164.00 to $176.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Evercore boosted their target price on PepsiCo from $152.00 to $165.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $168.50.

About PepsiCo

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.