Keurig Dr Pepper (NASDAQ:KDP) Sees Large Volume Increase After Analyst Upgrade

Keurig Dr Pepper Inc. (NASDAQ:KDP - Get Free Report) saw unusually-high trading volume on Thursday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on the stock from $37.00 to $40.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Approximately 13,843,231 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 47% from the previous session's volume of 9,409,465 shares.The stock last traded at $33.00 and had previously closed at $33.74.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on KDP. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Keurig Dr Pepper from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $37.00 to $39.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Keurig Dr Pepper in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Keurig Dr Pepper in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. TD Cowen lowered their target price on Keurig Dr Pepper from $39.00 to $36.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Keurig Dr Pepper from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $38.23.

Insider Transactions at Keurig Dr Pepper

In other Keurig Dr Pepper news, major shareholder Bevco B.V. Jab sold 83,950,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.65, for a total transaction of $2,740,967,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 134,113,479 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,378,805,089.35. This trade represents a 38.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Keurig Dr Pepper

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of KDP. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Keurig Dr Pepper by 23.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 119,587,162 shares of the company's stock worth $3,841,140,000 after purchasing an additional 22,856,757 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in Keurig Dr Pepper by 36.0% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 54,656,384 shares of the company's stock worth $1,755,564,000 after acquiring an additional 14,473,054 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Keurig Dr Pepper by 9.8% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 102,183,144 shares of the company's stock worth $3,829,824,000 after purchasing an additional 9,105,164 shares during the period. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC grew its holdings in shares of Keurig Dr Pepper by 65.0% during the 4th quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 21,219,771 shares of the company's stock worth $681,579,000 after purchasing an additional 8,363,192 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Keurig Dr Pepper during the 4th quarter worth approximately $197,819,000. 93.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Keurig Dr Pepper Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $46.31 billion, a PE ratio of 20.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The company's fifty day moving average is $31.93 and its 200 day moving average is $33.91.

Keurig Dr Pepper (NASDAQ:KDP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The company reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $4.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.01 billion. Keurig Dr Pepper had a net margin of 15.04% and a return on equity of 10.45%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.55 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Keurig Dr Pepper Inc. will post 1.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Keurig Dr Pepper Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be paid a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 28th. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.70%. Keurig Dr Pepper's payout ratio is currently 87.62%.

About Keurig Dr Pepper

Keurig Dr Pepper Inc owns, manufactures, and distributors beverages and single serve brewing systems in the United States and internationally. It operates through three segments: U.S. Refreshment Beverages, U.S. Coffee, and International. The U.S. Refreshment Beverages segment manufactures and distributes branded concentrates, syrup, and finished beverages.