Keurig Dr Pepper (NASDAQ:KDP) Rating Increased 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 released on Tuesday, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have $40.00 price objective on the stock, up from their prior price objective of $38.00.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Keurig Dr Pepper in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Barclays set a $39.00 target price on shares of Keurig Dr Pepper in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Keurig Dr Pepper from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $37.00 to $39.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. TD Cowen cut their price objective on Keurig Dr Pepper from $39.00 to $36.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Keurig Dr Pepper in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $38.38.

Keurig Dr Pepper Stock Up 1.4 %

Keurig Dr Pepper stock opened at $35.63 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.59, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.62. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $33.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $33.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.53 and a quick ratio of 0.36. Keurig Dr Pepper has a fifty-two week low of $30.12 and a fifty-two week high of $38.28.

Keurig Dr Pepper (NASDAQ:KDP) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The company reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $4.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 period last year, the company posted $0.55 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Keurig Dr Pepper will post 1.92 EPS for the current year.

Keurig Dr Pepper Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Friday, March 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 28th. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.58%. Keurig Dr Pepper’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 87.62%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Keurig Dr Pepper

In related news, insider Mary Beth Denooyer sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.05, for a total transaction of $408,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 187,537 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,385,634.85. This represents a 6.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Chairman Robert James Gamgort sold 416,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.29, for a total transaction of $14,264,640.00. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 3,237,066 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $110,998,993.14. The trade was a 11.39 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 84,409,350 shares of company stock worth $2,756,709,930. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Keurig Dr Pepper

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Townsquare Capital LLC grew its stake in Keurig Dr Pepper by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 15,734 shares of the company’s stock valued at $505,000 after buying an additional 327 shares in the last quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Keurig Dr Pepper by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 28,545 shares of the company’s stock valued at $893,000 after purchasing an additional 342 shares in the last quarter. Barden Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Keurig Dr Pepper by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Barden Capital Management Inc. now owns 39,836 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,280,000 after purchasing an additional 353 shares in the last quarter. Custom Index Systems LLC raised its stake in shares of Keurig Dr Pepper by 5.3% during 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 during the period. Finally, First Hawaiian Bank lifted its holdings in Keurig Dr Pepper by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 7,789 shares of the company’s stock worth $250,000 after purchasing an additional 384 shares in the last quarter. 93.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.