IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd Reduces Holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. $PEP

IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd lessened its position in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 7.1% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 90,228 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,890 shares during the quarter. PepsiCo accounts for about 0.9% of IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 27th biggest position. IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $12,672,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Financial & Tax Architects LLC raised its position in PepsiCo by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter. Financial & Tax Architects LLC now owns 50,783 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,132,000 after purchasing an additional 2,908 shares during the last quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD raised its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 29.7% in the third quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD now owns 1,585,557 shares of the company’s stock valued at $222,248,000 after buying an additional 363,201 shares during the last quarter. Bond & Devick Financial Network Inc. boosted its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 9.5% during the third quarter. Bond & Devick Financial Network Inc. now owns 3,439 shares of the company’s stock worth $483,000 after buying an additional 298 shares during the period. Waterloo Capital L.P. grew its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 81.7% during the third quarter. Waterloo Capital L.P. now owns 7,708 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,083,000 after buying an additional 3,467 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Beacon Harbor Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its position in PepsiCo by 23.2% in the 3rd quarter. Beacon Harbor Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 42,664 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,992,000 after acquiring an additional 8,030 shares during the period. 73.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on PepsiCo from $154.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $152.00 to $165.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $155.00 to $162.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $190.00 price target on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Wednesday. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $167.28.

PepsiCo Price Performance

PepsiCo stock opened at $167.53 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $228.95 billion, a PE ratio of 27.92, a P/E/G ratio of 5.43 and a beta of 0.40. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 52 week low of $127.60 and a 52 week high of $168.01. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $147.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $146.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $2.26 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.24 by $0.02. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 57.92% and a net margin of 8.77%.The firm 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 firm earned $1.96 EPS. PepsiCo’s quarterly revenue was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. PepsiCo has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.550-8.710 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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 is Friday, March 6th. This represents a $5.69 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is 94.83%.

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

Key PepsiCo News

Here are the key news stories impacting PepsiCo this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 beat and reiterated guidance — Pepsi reported better-than-expected Q4 revenue and EPS, kept FY26 guidance, and management highlighted margin improvement and execution that helped the stock rally after earnings. Pepsi Pops as Investors Take Notice of Key Strategic Initiatives
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street lifts targets — Several firms raised PEP price targets (examples: Morgan Stanley to $180, JPMorgan to $176, UBS to $190, HSBC to $175), signaling analyst confidence that recent execution and initiatives improve the outlook. PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) Given New $180.00 Price Target at Morgan Stanley
• Positive Sentiment: Shareholder returns boosted — Board declared a higher quarterly dividend (5% increase) and the company announced a $10 billion share-repurchase program, supporting total-return appeal for income and activist-aligned investors. PepsiCo Declares Quarterly Dividend PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) to Repurchase $10.00 billion in Shares
• Positive Sentiment: Strategy shift to lift volumes and margins — Management is cutting and simplifying SKUs, investing in core brands, rolling out affordability (price cuts up to ~15% on some snacks) and pursuing productivity/automation savings to offset inflation — a coordinated plan investors view as constructive for growth and margin recovery. PepsiCo pivoting to snack affordability PepsiCo’s Productivity Strategy: A Catalyst for EPS Expansion?
• Neutral Sentiment: Price cuts follow consumer backlash — Management publicly acknowledged consumer pushback on recent snack pricing and is reducing prices on select SKUs to regain volume; outcome depends on execution and retailer cooperation. Pepsi will cut prices on Lay’s, Cheetos by as much as 15%
• Negative Sentiment: Margin and valuation risk flagged by some analysts — Critics say the rally is partly multiple expansion, volumes remain soft, and the planned price cuts could pressure margins; upside now depends on execution, raising risk for new buyers. PepsiCo: The Carbonation Is Out Of The Bottle – Strong Sell

PepsiCo 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.