Keurig Dr Pepper (NASDAQ:KDP) Upgraded to Overweight at Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Keurig Dr Pepper (NASDAQ:KDP) from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating in a report published on Tuesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They currently have $40.00 price objective on the stock, up from their prior price objective of $38.00.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on KDP. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Keurig Dr Pepper from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $37.00 to $39.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Keurig Dr Pepper from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Barclays set a $39.00 price target on Keurig Dr Pepper in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Keurig Dr Pepper in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their target price on shares of Keurig Dr Pepper from $39.00 to $36.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $38.38.

Keurig Dr Pepper Stock Up 2.2 %

KDP opened at $34.97 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $32.83 and a 200-day moving average of $33.48. The company has a market capitalization of $47.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.62. Keurig Dr Pepper has a fifty-two week low of $30.12 and a fifty-two week high of $38.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.53.

Keurig Dr Pepper (NASDAQ:KDP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The company reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.01. Keurig Dr Pepper had a net margin of 15.04% and a return on equity of 10.45%. The business had revenue of $4.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.01 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.55 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Keurig Dr Pepper will post 1.92 EPS for the current year.

Keurig Dr Pepper Announces Dividend

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 dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 28th. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.63%. Keurig Dr Pepper’s payout ratio is presently 87.62%.

Insider Transactions at Keurig Dr Pepper

In other news, VP Angela A. Stephens sold 7,350 shares of Keurig Dr Pepper stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.17, for a total transaction of $251,149.50. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 74,587 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,548,637.79. This trade represents a 8.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Bevco B.V. Jab acquired 3,619,600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $33.34 per share, with a total value of $120,677,464.00. Following the purchase, the insider now directly owns 218,063,479 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,270,236,389.86. This trade represents a 1.69 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 84,397,350 shares of company stock worth $2,756,292,570. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Keurig Dr Pepper

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Townsquare Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Keurig Dr Pepper by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 15,734 shares of the company’s stock valued at $505,000 after acquiring an additional 327 shares during the last quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Keurig Dr Pepper by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 28,545 shares of the company’s stock worth $893,000 after purchasing an additional 342 shares during the last quarter. Barden Capital Management Inc. raised 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 last quarter. Custom Index Systems LLC grew its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 357 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Hawaiian Bank grew its position in shares of Keurig Dr Pepper by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 7,789 shares of the company’s stock valued at $250,000 after buying an additional 384 shares during 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.