PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) Price Target Lowered to $186.00 at UBS Group

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) had its price target decreased by UBS Group from $190.00 to $186.00 in a report released on Tuesday morning, Marketbeat reports. UBS Group currently has a buy rating on the stock.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on the company. HSBC raised their target price on PepsiCo from $152.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Argus upgraded PepsiCo to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on PepsiCo from $156.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Citigroup raised their target price on PepsiCo from $170.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $172.00 to $181.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $168.79.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

NASDAQ PEP opened at $153.21 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $209.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.54, a PEG ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a 50 day moving average of $160.21 and a 200-day moving average of $150.85. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06. PepsiCo has a 1-year low of $127.60 and a 1-year high of $171.48.

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

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th were given a $1.4225 dividend. This represents a $5.69 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 6th. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 94.83%.

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

Institutional Trading of PepsiCo

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 554,798 shares of the company’s stock valued at $77,916,000 after buying an additional 19,218 shares during the period. Clayton Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $872,000. Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc. grew its position in shares of PepsiCo by 622.3% in the 4th quarter. Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc. now owns 35,603 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,110,000 after purchasing an additional 30,674 shares during the period. Kathmere Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of PepsiCo by 122.6% in the 3rd quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 20,365 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,860,000 after purchasing an additional 11,217 shares during the period. Finally, Mediolanum International Funds Ltd grew its position in shares of PepsiCo by 19.3% in the 3rd quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd now owns 252,916 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,451,000 after purchasing an additional 40,947 shares during the period. 73.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key PepsiCo News

Here are the key news stories impacting PepsiCo this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts flag early signs of a turnaround in PepsiCo Foods North America and say Q1 is likely to be broadly in line, which could limit downside if results meet expectations. PepsiCo seen posting in-line Q1 as analysts flag North America turnaround
• Positive Sentiment: UBS trimmed its price target modestly to $186 but kept a Buy rating, signaling continued analyst conviction and potential upside from current levels. UBS trims PEP price target
• Neutral Sentiment: Bank of America and other brokers expect largely in‑line Q1 results; the focus for investors will be commentary on the PFNA (snacks) turnaround, PBNA (beverages) growth initiatives and any geopolitical impact. PepsiCo Likely to Report In Line Q1 Earnings, BofA Says
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst fair‑value/target updates are mixed—a slight reset lower in modeled fair value while some analysts raise targets—reflecting uncertainty around how pricing and affordability actions will flow through results. How The PepsiCo (PEP) Investment Narrative Is Shifting
• Negative Sentiment: Extensive coverage shows Frito‑Lay snack prices (Doritos) rose sharply since 2021—up ~50% in some cases—and the resulting consumer pushback reportedly cost PepsiCo billions in sales and market value, spotlighting pricing strategy risk and forcing recent price cuts. Doritos prices jumped 50% in four years and PepsiCo waited until it lost billions to do anything about it
• Negative Sentiment: Coverage highlights that the company’s price cuts have so far failed to fully reassure customers and investors, keeping downside risk to near‑term sales and margins. PepsiCo Stock (PEP) Slips as Frito-Lay Price Cuts Fail to Please Customers
• Negative Sentiment: Brand and distribution setbacks: reports that Marriott is replacing Pepsi with Coca‑Cola across its global hotel portfolio are a direct hit to beverage placement and visibility in a major channel. Atlanta’s Coke Scores Global Hotel Knockout As Marriott Dumps Pepsi
• Negative Sentiment: Reputational/PR actions: PepsiCo and Diageo pulled sponsorship of a high‑profile festival act, reflecting brand‑risk management but also highlighting ongoing reputational exposures. PepsiCo, Diageo Drop Sponsorship of Kanye West-Headlined U.K. Music Festival

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.