Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Grows Position in PepsiCo, Inc. $PEP

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lifted its position in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 13.1% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 198,655 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 22,960 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $27,899,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. JCIC Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the third quarter worth about $27,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC boosted its position in shares of PepsiCo by 107.1% in the second quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 234 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 121 shares during the period. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC lifted its position in PepsiCo by 667.7% during the 3rd quarter. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC now owns 238 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 207 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new position in PepsiCo in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting PepsiCo

Here are the key news stories impacting PepsiCo this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Dividend/yield interest — Market commentary argues PepsiCo’s dividend yield and steady payout make PEP attractive in uncertain markets, helping drive inflows and supporting the stock’s rally. I Predicted That PepsiCo’s Dividend Yield Peaked…
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst bull case on long-term growth — Zacks highlights PEP as a top long-term growth name based on its portfolio, cash flow and scale, which supports a buy-and-hold thesis. Why PepsiCo (PEP) is a Top Growth Stock for the Long-Term
• Positive Sentiment: Strategy = innovation + margins — A Zacks piece notes PepsiCo is funding innovation and brand building while pursuing productivity and pricing discipline, signaling management is balancing growth and margin recovery. Can PepsiCo Balance Innovation Spending and Margin Expansion?
• Neutral Sentiment: Debt/capital markets activity — PepsiCo announced a €2.5 billion euro-denominated senior notes offering (tranches), which secures funding but raises leverage; impact depends on use (refinancing vs. new spend). PepsiCo Issues €2.5 Billion Euro-Denominated Senior Notes
• Neutral Sentiment: Promotional pricing on snacks — PepsiCo cut prices (brands like Lay’s, Doritos ~15%) to drive volume; could boost share and top-line but may pressure near-term margins. Betcha can eat more than just one…
• Neutral Sentiment: Local operating focus — Management commentary emphasizes “operate locally” advantages (supply/portfolio tailoring), a strategic positive but not an immediate catalyst. PepsiCo exec on the power of operating locally
• Neutral Sentiment: Celsius board change — A PepsiCo-designate resigned from Celsius’ board; noteworthy for the JV/partnership but not material for PepsiCo’s financials. Celsius Holdings Reshapes Board and Leadership with PepsiCo
• Negative Sentiment: Bearish analyst stance persists — Rothschild & Co Redburn raised its target to $130 but kept a “sell” rating, implying meaningful downside from current levels and signaling some analysts still see valuation risk. Rothschild & Co Redburn adjusts price target…
• Negative Sentiment: Sector/peer weakness — Coca‑Cola’s weak organic-sales guidance pressured beverage peers, briefly weighing on PepsiCo’s stock despite PEP’s own solid quarter. Coca-Cola falls after organic-sales guidance disappoints…

PepsiCo Stock Performance

Shares of PEP stock opened at $169.15 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $231.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.19, a PEG ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.40. PepsiCo, Inc. has a one year low of $127.60 and a one year high of $170.75. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $148.78 and its 200-day simple moving average is $146.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.85.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 2nd. The company reported $2.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $28.96 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.96 earnings per share. PepsiCo’s quarterly revenue was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th will be paid 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 (DPR) is 94.83%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore lifted their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $152.00 to $165.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of PepsiCo in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Rothschild & Co Redburn lifted their target price on PepsiCo from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price target on PepsiCo from $161.00 to $172.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $167.68.

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.