Keurig Dr Pepper Inc. (NASDAQ:KDP) Short Interest Up 8.4% in March

Keurig Dr Pepper Inc. (NASDAQ:KDP) saw a large growth in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 13,720,000 shares, a growth of 8.4% from the March 15th total of 12,660,000 shares. Currently, 1.3% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 10,910,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.3 days.

Insider Activity at Keurig Dr Pepper

In related news, major shareholder Holdings B.V. Jab sold 51,956,522 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.90, for a total transaction of $1,501,543,485.80. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 331,487,357 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,579,984,617.30. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Keurig Dr Pepper news, major shareholder Holdings B.V. Jab sold 51,956,522 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.90, for a total transaction of $1,501,543,485.80. Following the sale, the insider now owns 331,487,357 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,579,984,617.30. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Robert James Gamgort purchased 171,821 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $29.10 per share, for a total transaction of $4,999,991.10. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 3,179,917 shares in the company, valued at approximately $92,535,584.70. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold 100,012,132 shares of company stock valued at $2,890,354,861 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.81% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Keurig Dr Pepper

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Keurig Dr Pepper in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Keurig Dr Pepper in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Keurig Dr Pepper by 973.8% in the third quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 902 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 818 shares during the last quarter. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Keurig Dr Pepper in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Keurig Dr Pepper in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.23% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on KDP shares. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Keurig Dr Pepper from $37.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Barclays upped their target price on Keurig Dr Pepper from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Wedbush lowered their target price on Keurig Dr Pepper from $37.00 to $35.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on Keurig Dr Pepper from $42.00 to $41.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, HSBC assumed coverage on Keurig Dr Pepper in a research note on Friday, December 22nd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $37.00 target price on the stock. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $36.45.

Keurig Dr Pepper Stock Performance

NASDAQ KDP opened at $30.44 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.64, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.66. Keurig Dr Pepper has a twelve month low of $27.66 and a twelve month high of $35.99. The company has a current ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $30.26 and a 200 day moving average of $31.00.

Keurig Dr Pepper (NASDAQ:KDP) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.54 by $0.01. Keurig Dr Pepper had a return on equity of 9.93% and a net margin of 14.72%. The business had revenue of $3.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.92 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.50 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Keurig Dr Pepper will post 1.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Keurig Dr Pepper Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 29th were issued a dividend of $0.215 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $0.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.83%. Keurig Dr Pepper’s payout ratio is currently 55.48%.

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.