Bell Asset Management Ltd Decreases Holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. $PEP

Bell Asset Management Ltd lowered its stake in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 42.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 37,588 shares of the company’s stock after selling 27,999 shares during the period. PepsiCo comprises 1.4% of Bell Asset Management Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Bell Asset Management Ltd’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $5,279,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of PEP. Clayton Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the third quarter valued at about $872,000. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. boosted its position in PepsiCo by 2.6% during the second quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 185,961 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,554,000 after acquiring an additional 4,627 shares during the last quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC grew its stake in PepsiCo by 122.6% during the 3rd quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 20,365 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,860,000 after acquiring an additional 11,217 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in PepsiCo by 11.7% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 12,659,046 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,671,500,000 after acquiring an additional 1,330,888 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amica Retiree Medical Trust acquired a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $124,000. 73.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Evercore increased their price target on PepsiCo from $152.00 to $165.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on PepsiCo from $156.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $164.00 to $176.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn lifted 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. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $168.50.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

NASDAQ PEP opened at $159.43 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $155.04 and a 200-day simple moving average of $149.29. 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 stock has a market cap of $217.89 billion, a PE ratio of 26.57, a P/E/G ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.39. PepsiCo, Inc. has a twelve month low of $127.60 and a twelve month high of $171.48.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last posted its earnings results on Monday, February 2nd. The company reported $2.26 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $28.96 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.96 earnings per share. PepsiCo’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current year.

PepsiCo declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, February 3rd that permits the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 4.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

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

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.