Lazard Asset Management LLC Increases Stock Holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. $PEP

Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 31.4% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,407,731 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 336,676 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $218,607,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in shares of PepsiCo by 12.4% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 59,392 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,031,000 after buying an additional 6,574 shares during the period. Caxton Associates LLP acquired a new stake in PepsiCo during the first quarter worth about $251,000. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 138.5% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,527 shares of the company’s stock worth $862,000 after purchasing an additional 3,790 shares during the period. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. grew its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 10.1% during the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 38,164 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,039,000 after purchasing an additional 3,502 shares during the period. Finally, Sei Investments Co. lifted its position in PepsiCo by 45.5% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 536,133 shares of the company’s stock valued at $70,789,000 after buying an additional 167,707 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

PepsiCo stock opened at $136.64 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.91, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.74. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 12 month low of $133.73 and a 12 month high of $171.48. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $142.11 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $151.01. The company has a market cap of $186.50 billion, a PE ratio of 17.91, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.36.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 9th. The company reported $2.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $24.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $23.95 billion. PepsiCo had a net margin of 10.78% and a return on equity of 54.63%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.92 earnings per share. PepsiCo has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.550-8.710 EPS. Research analysts expect that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.57 earnings per share for the current year.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 4th will be given a dividend of $1.48 per share. This represents a $5.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 4th. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is presently 77.59%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group set a $159.00 price target on PepsiCo in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Rothschild & Co Redburn lifted their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $130.00 to $132.00 in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $150.00 to $140.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on PepsiCo from $180.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane reduced their target price on PepsiCo from $195.00 to $183.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $157.90.

Trending Headlines about PepsiCo

Here are the key news stories impacting PepsiCo this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Investors bought an unusually large number of PepsiCo call options, with call volume running about 70% above average, signaling bullish trading activity and expectations for upside.
• Positive Sentiment: News that Quaker Oats plans a major expansion at PepsiCo’s North Texas facility could be viewed as a long-term growth and capacity positive. PepsiCo’s Quaker Oats plans major expansion at its North Texas facility
• Neutral Sentiment: PepsiCo is still trading near the lower end of its 52-week range, which reflects recent weakness, but also leaves room for a rebound if sentiment improves.
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks Research trimmed multiple PepsiCo earnings estimates, including FY2026, FY2027, FY2028 and several quarterly forecasts, which may pressure the stock by reinforcing concerns about earnings momentum.
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that PepsiCo will cease warehouse operations at an Oklahoma production site may raise concerns about restructuring or operational disruption. PepsiCo to cease warehouse operations at Oklahoma production site
• Negative Sentiment: One Seeking Alpha article argued PepsiCo should be downgraded to “Sell,” reflecting continued skepticism about the stock’s near-term return potential. PepsiCo: ‘Upgrading’ From Strong Sell To Sell, But I Still Expect Frozen Returns

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.