Beacon Financial Advisory LLC Acquires 6,599 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. $PEP

Beacon Financial Advisory LLC increased its holdings in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 221.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 9,577 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,599 shares during the quarter. Beacon Financial Advisory LLC’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $1,374,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. L2 Asset Management LLC boosted its position in PepsiCo by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. L2 Asset Management LLC now owns 6,983 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,002,000 after purchasing an additional 456 shares during the period. 71 West Capital Partners acquired a new stake in shares of PepsiCo during the 4th quarter worth about $810,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. bought a new stake in shares of PepsiCo during the 4th quarter worth about $111,000. Oarsman Capital Inc. grew its stake in PepsiCo by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Oarsman Capital Inc. now owns 12,521 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,797,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sienna Gestion acquired a new stake in PepsiCo during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,690,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

Key PepsiCo News

Here are the key news stories impacting PepsiCo this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Unusual options activity showed traders buying far more call options than usual, suggesting some investors are positioning for a rebound in PepsiCo shares.
• Positive Sentiment: PepsiCo continues to draw investor interest as a dividend and defensive large-cap stock, and one article highlighted the company among broader “best stocks to buy” lists.
• Neutral Sentiment: PepsiCo is expanding into newer growth areas, including its House of Treats beverage platform for entertainment and hospitality venues, and a regenerative farming partnership that could support longer-term brand and supply-chain strength.
• Neutral Sentiment: The stock advanced in the latest session but still lagged the broader market, reflecting a mixed near-term backdrop rather than a strong catalyst-driven move.
• Negative Sentiment: Piper Sandler cut its price target on PepsiCo, adding to concerns that growth is slowing and that near-term upside may be limited. PepsiCo (PEP) Price Target Lowered at Piper Sandler. Here is Why
• Negative Sentiment: TD Cowen also lowered its price target and kept a Hold rating, while cutting its second-quarter organic growth forecast below consensus, reinforcing worries about softer sales momentum. PepsiCo (PEP) Gets Mixed Wall Street Reviews as Growth Challenges Persist
• Negative Sentiment: Additional reports noted more analyst price-target reductions for PepsiCo, signaling that Wall Street expectations are moving lower ahead of the next results update. PepsiCo (PEP) Advances But Underperforms Market: Key Facts

PepsiCo Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of PepsiCo stock opened at $146.25 on Tuesday. 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, Inc. has a 12-month low of $127.60 and a 12-month high of $171.48. The company has a market capitalization of $199.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.96, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.35. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $150.90 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $152.42.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The company reported $1.61 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.55 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $19.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.89 billion. PepsiCo had a net margin of 9.15% and a return on equity of 56.61%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.48 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th will be paid a $1.48 dividend. This represents a $5.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.0%. This is a boost from PepsiCo’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is 92.94%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays upped their target price on PepsiCo from $154.00 to $158.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Wall Street Zen lowered PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, April 18th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of PepsiCo in a research report on Thursday. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $143.00 target price for the company. BNP Paribas Exane raised their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $191.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Finally, HSBC boosted their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $175.00 to $176.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 17th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $167.35.

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.