The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Acquires New Shares in PepsiCo, Inc. $PEP

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor bought 1,110,852 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $150,409,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in PEP. BlackRock Inc. grew its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 118,281,854 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,015,363,000 after buying an additional 2,440,377 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in PepsiCo by 1.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 59,499,819 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,356,155,000 after acquiring an additional 1,079,970 shares in the last quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co lifted its stake in PepsiCo by 14,857.8% in the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 49,252,907 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,068,777,000 after acquiring an additional 48,923,629 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in PepsiCo by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 33,617,937 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,814,835,000 after acquiring an additional 360,936 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 28,090,426 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,031,646,000 after purchasing an additional 295,955 shares during the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP David Flavell sold 2,900 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.54, for a total transaction of $404,666.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 74,825 shares in the company, valued at $10,441,080.50. This represents a 3.73% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Trending Headlines about PepsiCo

Here are the key news stories impacting PepsiCo this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Jim Cramer highlighted PepsiCo as a defensive large-cap opportunity, citing its roughly 4% dividend yield and the potential benefit of lower oil prices. Cheaper fuel could support consumer spending and reduce transportation and operating costs. Jim Cramer Shares Why PepsiCo Caught His Eye During Consumer Headwinds
• Positive Sentiment: Investors remain attracted to PepsiCo’s 54-year record of consecutive dividend increases and comparatively reasonable valuation. Improving international results could help offset continuing weakness in North America, supporting the case for income-oriented investors. Most Investors Overlook This. I’m Buying PepsiCo for Its Dividend
• Positive Sentiment: PepsiCo is pursuing growth beyond its traditional snack portfolio by introducing and emphasizing global flavors, a strategy that could broaden consumer appeal and create new avenues for international growth. PepsiCo Bets on Global Flavors to Grow Beyond Snacks
• Neutral Sentiment: Commentary describing consumer staples as a lagging sector frames PepsiCo as a value opportunity rather than a near-term growth leader. The investment appeal depends on the stock’s discounted valuation, dividend support and execution on its recovery plans. The Consumer Staples Sector Is Lagging the S&P 500
• Negative Sentiment: Texas authorities are investigating PepsiCo and Kraft Heinz over claims involving avocado oil. The outcome and scope of the investigation are unclear, but regulatory scrutiny could create legal, reputational or product-related costs. PepsiCo, Kraft Heinz Under Investigation in Texas Over Avocado Oil Claims
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts note that PepsiCo’s dividend faces pressure from slower growth, persistent North American weakness and a more difficult recovery than the commodity-driven risks facing Chevron. This raises questions about future payout growth, despite the company’s long dividend history. Chevron or PepsiCo: Whose Dividend Is Standing on Thinner Ice?

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on PEP. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $138.00 to $142.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $163.00 to $161.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Citigroup cut PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $170.00 to $145.00 in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Piper Sandler set a $176.00 price target on PepsiCo in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on PepsiCo from $180.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 10th. Seven equities 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, PepsiCo has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $157.90.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PEP opened at $141.07 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $192.55 billion, a PE ratio of 18.49, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.35. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 1 year low of $133.73 and a 1 year high of $171.48. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.91. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $139.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $149.39.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last released 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. PepsiCo had a net margin of 10.78% and a return on equity of 54.63%. The firm had revenue of $24.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.95 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.92 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. PepsiCo has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.550-8.710 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.57 EPS for the current year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 4th will be given a dividend of $1.48 per share. This represents a $5.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 4th. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is currently 77.59%.

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.