Keurig Dr Pepper (NASDAQ:KDP) Sees Large Volume Increase - Here's Why

Keurig Dr Pepper Inc. (NASDAQ:KDP - Get Free Report) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Friday . Approximately 12,762,075 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 26% from the previous session's volume of 10,096,088 shares.The stock last traded at $34.49 and had previously closed at $34.04.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on KDP. Morgan Stanley raised Keurig Dr Pepper from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $38.00 to $40.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Wells Fargo & Company restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Keurig Dr Pepper in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Piper Sandler raised shares of Keurig Dr Pepper from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $35.00 to $40.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Argus assumed coverage on shares of Keurig Dr Pepper in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. They set a "buy" rating and a $40.00 price target for the company. Finally, HSBC raised Keurig Dr Pepper from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $36.00 to $42.00 in a report on Friday, April 25th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Keurig Dr Pepper currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $39.33.

Keurig Dr Pepper Trading Up 1.1 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.53. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $34.17 and a 200 day simple moving average of $33.15. The stock has a market cap of $46.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.85, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.54.

Keurig Dr Pepper (NASDAQ:KDP - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.04. Keurig Dr Pepper had a net margin of 15.04% and a return on equity of 10.45%. The firm had revenue of $3.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.57 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.38 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Keurig Dr Pepper Inc. will post 1.92 EPS for the current year.

Keurig Dr Pepper Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 28th were paid a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 28th. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.67%. Keurig Dr Pepper's payout ratio is currently 83.64%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Chairman Robert James Gamgort sold 416,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.29, for a total transaction of $14,264,640.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 3,237,066 shares of the company's stock, valued at $110,998,993.14. The trade was a 11.39 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, major shareholder Bevco B.V. Jab sold 83,950,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.65, for a total value 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 $4,378,805,089.35. This trade represents a 38.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 84,837,350 shares of company stock valued at $2,771,297,650 in the last quarter. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Keurig Dr Pepper

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Townsquare Capital LLC raised its holdings in Keurig Dr Pepper by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 15,734 shares of the company's stock valued at $505,000 after buying an additional 327 shares during the period. Perigon Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Keurig Dr Pepper by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 28,545 shares of the company's stock valued at $893,000 after acquiring an additional 342 shares during the period. First American Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Keurig Dr Pepper by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. First American Bank now owns 59,564 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,038,000 after acquiring an additional 344 shares in the last quarter. Barden Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Keurig Dr Pepper by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Barden Capital Management Inc. now owns 39,836 shares of the company's stock worth $1,280,000 after purchasing an additional 353 shares during the period. Finally, Custom Index Systems LLC increased its holdings in Keurig Dr Pepper by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Custom Index Systems LLC now owns 7,109 shares of the company's stock valued at $228,000 after purchasing an additional 357 shares in the last quarter. 93.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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