Erste Asset Management GmbH Sells 7,923 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. $PEP

Erste Asset Management GmbH lowered its position in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 5.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 127,478 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,923 shares during the period. Erste Asset Management GmbH’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $17,869,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of PepsiCo by 1.3% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 136,936,037 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,081,034,000 after acquiring an additional 1,761,785 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its stake in PepsiCo by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 58,419,849 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,713,757,000 after purchasing an additional 920,045 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in PepsiCo by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 32,675,492 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,301,240,000 after purchasing an additional 86,695 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of PepsiCo by 9.7% during the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 29,031,404 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,833,406,000 after purchasing an additional 2,556,163 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the second quarter worth approximately $2,330,594,000. 73.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting PepsiCo

Here are the key news stories impacting PepsiCo this week:

• Positive Sentiment: PepsiCo is launching its Poppi soda brand in the UK — its first rollout outside the U.S. — which broadens international growth avenues for a fast‑growing beverage SKU and leverages local bottler Carlsberg Britvic for production and distribution. poppi lands in the UK
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend narrative remains supportive: coverage pieces continue to highlight PepsiCo’s long dividend track record and yield profile, attracting income‑focused investors and providing a defensive valuation underpin. Dividend King coverage
• Positive Sentiment: Management/marketing moves and digital push — PepsiCo elevated Mira Medhat to a regional beverages marketing role and is leaning into social media influencers (TikTok) to drive brand buzz, indicating active investment in demand creation for beverage SKUs. Marketing director promotion
• Neutral Sentiment: Investor attention metrics: tools and sites (Zacks/other screens) show elevated interest in PEP — higher searches can increase short‑term liquidity and volatility but are not directional on fundamentals. Zacks investor interest
• Neutral Sentiment: Nearby competitor/asset news — Celsius Holdings reported strong results after acquiring Rockstar (previously part of PepsiCo). Celsius strength is an industry datapoint but doesn’t directly change PepsiCo’s core beverage economics. Celsius earnings and Rockstar note
• Negative Sentiment: PepsiCo will close a Frito‑Lay warehouse in Rancho Cucamonga, CA, laying off ~248 workers — a cost/supply‑chain action that reduces capacity and creates short‑term disruption and local PR/ESG scrutiny. Frito‑Lay warehouse closure
• Negative Sentiment: Short interest rose sharply in February (≈25% increase month‑over‑month) — a higher short base can amplify downside risk and volatility if negative news or earnings miss occurs. (Data reported in market summaries.)
• Negative Sentiment: Proxy/ESG issue: a shareholder action over animal welfare was halted after PepsiCo relented on a demand — the resolution removes litigation uncertainty but signals concession on an ESG matter, which may concern some investors. Animal welfare proxy suit halted

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on PEP shares. Argus upgraded PepsiCo to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on PepsiCo from $161.00 to $172.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. BNP Paribas Exane set a $191.00 target price on PepsiCo in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on PepsiCo from $164.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 27th. Eight research 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. According to MarketBeat, PepsiCo presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $168.00.

PepsiCo Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of PEP opened at $169.74 on Friday. 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, Inc. has a 52 week low of $127.60 and a 52 week high of $171.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $231.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.29, a PEG ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.40. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $153.15 and a 200-day moving average of $148.82.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 2nd. The company reported $2.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.24 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $29.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $28.96 billion. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 57.92% and a net margin of 8.77%.PepsiCo’s quarterly revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.96 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be paid a $1.4225 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. This represents a $5.69 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is currently 94.83%.

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

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.