Principle Wealth Partners LLC Boosts Stake in PepsiCo, Inc. $PEP

Posted by George Bondi on May 23rd, 2026

Principle Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP – Free Report) by 32.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 24,759 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 6,045 shares during the period. Principle Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $3,553,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PEP. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its position in PepsiCo by 3.6% during the third 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. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd grew its position in PepsiCo by 11.4% during the fourth quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 415,271 shares of the company’s stock valued at $59,600,000 after buying an additional 42,335 shares during the period. Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc. grew its position in PepsiCo by 622.3% during the fourth quarter. Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc. now owns 35,603 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,110,000 after buying an additional 30,674 shares during the period. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd grew its position in PepsiCo by 19.3% during the third quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd now owns 252,916 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,451,000 after buying an additional 40,947 shares during the period. Finally, Townsquare Capital LLC grew its position in PepsiCo by 96.5% during the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 40,383 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,671,000 after buying an additional 19,829 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on PEP shares. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $170.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Argus upgraded shares of PepsiCo to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of PepsiCo in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. 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 research report on Thursday, March 12th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $170.11.

Read Our Latest Stock Report on PEP

Key Headlines Impacting PepsiCo

Here are the key news stories impacting PepsiCo this week:

Positive Sentiment: PepsiCo extended and revised its licensing and bottling arrangements with Varun Beverages in India through 2049, while also giving the partner more freedom to pursue non-PepsiCo ventures. The longer-term deal should help protect distribution in a key growth market and reduce partnership uncertainty. Varun Beverages, PepsiCo revise licencing deal
Positive Sentiment: PepsiCo is also being highlighted by market commentary as a strong growth stock and a defensive blue-chip income name, reinforcing investor interest in the company’s earnings stability and dividend profile. Here’s Why PepsiCo (PEP) is a Strong Growth Stock
Neutral Sentiment: PepsiCo launched new products and initiatives, including a functional ready-to-drink tea and a greenhouse program in Asia-Pacific, which support its innovation story but are unlikely to move the stock on their own. PepsiCo adds functional RTD tea
Neutral Sentiment: The company is also moving ahead with sustainability and regenerative agriculture efforts, which may help long-term brand positioning but are not immediate earnings catalysts. PepsiCo enters regen ag pact with LDC
Negative Sentiment: Industry coverage continues to flag margin pressure from higher sugar, packaging and freight costs, along with tariff uncertainty. That backdrop could weigh on profitability for PepsiCo and other soft drink makers if costs stay elevated. 5 Soft Drinks Stocks to Track Amid Margin & Tariff Pressures
Negative Sentiment: PepsiCo said it will raise prices on some smaller chip bags to offset increased costs. While this may help margins, it can also pressure volume and suggests inflation remains a headwind. Lay’s and Doritos maker to raise prices on small bags of chips

PepsiCo Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of NASDAQ PEP opened at $150.57 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $154.17 and its 200-day simple moving average is $152.45. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 52-week low of $127.60 and a 52-week high of $171.48. The firm has a market cap of $205.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP – Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The company reported $1.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.55 by $0.06. PepsiCo had a net margin of 9.15% and a return on equity of 56.61%. The business had revenue of $19.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.89 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.48 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be given a $1.48 dividend. This represents a $5.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.9%. This is a positive change from PepsiCo’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 89.32%.

PepsiCo declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Tuesday, February 3rd that allows the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 4.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

PepsiCo Profile

(Free Report)

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.