PepsiCo, Inc. $PEP Position Lowered by Bahl & Gaynor LLC

Bahl & Gaynor LLC decreased its position in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 13.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 526,026 shares of the company’s stock after selling 80,500 shares during the quarter. Bahl & Gaynor LLC’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $66,658,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of PEP. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC increased its holdings in PepsiCo by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC now owns 2,040 shares of the company’s stock worth $317,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Centerpoint Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 4.1% during the second quarter. Centerpoint Advisors LLC now owns 1,918 shares of the company’s stock valued at $260,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. JNBA Financial Advisors boosted its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 2.0% during the second quarter. JNBA Financial Advisors now owns 3,848 shares of the company’s stock valued at $521,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. 55 North Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 4.2% during the second quarter. 55 North Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,918 shares of the company’s stock worth $260,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Core Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 3.5% during the first quarter. Core Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 2,335 shares of the company’s stock worth $363,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

Key PepsiCo News

Here are the key news stories impacting PepsiCo this week:

• Positive Sentiment: PepsiCo plans to eliminate about 1,000 North American roles as part of a broader effort to simplify operations and improve execution. If the restructuring reduces costs, it could support margins over time. PepsiCo to cut about 1,000 jobs as North American business struggles
• Positive Sentiment: PepsiCo is emphasizing zero-sugar drinks, flavored sodas and functional hydration to address changing preferences and strengthen beverage demand. Can PepsiCo’s Zero-Sugar Strategy Strengthen Beverage Demand?
• Neutral Sentiment: The company renewed overseas beverage-supply agreements with KFC in several markets, maintaining an established distribution relationship. PepsiCo renews overseas KFC contracts
• Negative Sentiment: The layoffs come amid sluggish North American sales, volume declines and margin pressure. That points to ongoing operating challenges and could temper optimism about the potential savings, particularly as the turnaround has yet to gain traction. PepsiCo to cut over 1,000 jobs amid sluggish sales in North American market

Insider Activity at PepsiCo

In other news, Director Robert C. Pohlad acquired 184,646 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 14th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $128.28 per share, for a total transaction of $23,686,388.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 433,009 shares in the company, valued at $55,546,394.52. This represents a 74.35% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Ramon Laguarta sold 30,000 shares of PepsiCo stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.13, for a total transaction of $4,053,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 491,645 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $66,435,988.85. This represents a 5.75% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

PepsiCo Price Performance

Shares of PEP opened at $143.61 on Wednesday. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 1 year low of $123.47 and a 1 year high of $171.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The company has a market capitalization of $195.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.22 and a beta of 0.31. The business has a 50-day moving average of $133.41 and a 200-day moving average of $145.72.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 7th. The company reported $2.34 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.29 by $0.05. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 53.08% and a net margin of 11.09%. The company had revenue of $25.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $24.95 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.29 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PEP has been the subject of a number of research reports. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Thursday, October 8th. BNP Paribas Exane reduced their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $161.00 to $157.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 9th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $133.00 to $126.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 12th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Friday, October 9th. Finally, TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $145.00 to $133.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $143.28.

About PepsiCo

PepsiCo, Inc. is a global food and beverage company that develops, manufactures, markets and distributes a broad range of products. Its portfolio includes snacks such as Lay’s, Doritos and Cheetos, as well as beverages including Pepsi, Gatorade and Mountain Dew. The company was formed in 1965 through the merger of Pepsi-Cola and Frito-Lay. Its products are sold in more than 200 countries and territories through retail, food-service and other distribution channels. PepsiCo is headquartered in Purchase, New York.