Investors Buy High Volume of Keurig Dr Pepper Put Options (NASDAQ:KDP)

Keurig Dr Pepper, Inc (NASDAQ:KDP) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Traders bought 43,191 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of 225% compared to the typical daily volume of 13,277 put options.

Keurig Dr Pepper Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ KDP traded down $0.88 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $26.71. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 12,371,127 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,639,237. Keurig Dr Pepper has a one year low of $25.03 and a one year high of $36.12. The company has a market cap of $36.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $28.00 and a 200 day moving average price of $28.90. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53.

Keurig Dr Pepper (NASDAQ:KDP) last issued its earnings results on Monday, October 27th. The company reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.54. The firm had revenue of $4.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.15 billion. Keurig Dr Pepper had a net margin of 9.78% and a return on equity of 11.19%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.51 earnings per share. On average, equities research 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 was paid on Friday, January 16th. Investors of record on Friday, January 2nd were issued a $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 2nd. Keurig Dr Pepper’s payout ratio is presently 79.31%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Keurig Dr Pepper news, VP Angela A. Stephens sold 10,000 shares of Keurig Dr Pepper stock in a transaction on Friday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.52, for a total transaction of $295,200.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 54,200 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,599,984. The trade was a 15.58% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Keurig Dr Pepper

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of KDP. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Keurig Dr Pepper by 27.1% during the fourth quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 31,981 shares of the company’s stock valued at $888,000 after buying an additional 6,824 shares in the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Keurig Dr Pepper by 38.5% during the 4th quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 31,163 shares of the company’s stock worth $873,000 after acquiring an additional 8,661 shares during the period. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Keurig Dr Pepper during the 4th quarter valued at about $207,000. M&T Bank Corp grew its stake in Keurig Dr Pepper by 4,366.8% during the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 1,370,428 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,386,000 after acquiring an additional 1,339,748 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH increased its holdings in shares of Keurig Dr Pepper by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 1,210,597 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,953,000 after purchasing an additional 82,309 shares during the period. 93.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on KDP shares. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of Keurig Dr Pepper from $34.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 2nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Keurig Dr Pepper in a research note on Friday, October 31st. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $35.00 price objective on shares of Keurig Dr Pepper in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. Jefferies Financial Group cut Keurig Dr Pepper from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $39.00 to $32.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. Finally, TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating on shares of Keurig Dr Pepper in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $34.87.

About Keurig Dr Pepper

Keurig Dr Pepper (NASDAQ: KDP) is a North American beverage company formed in July 2018 through the combination of Keurig Green Mountain and Dr Pepper Snapple Group. The company designs, manufactures, markets and distributes a wide range of hot and cold beverages and related equipment, combining Keurig’s single‑serve coffee systems with a large portfolio of carbonated and noncarbonated drink brands. It operates a network of manufacturing, packaging and distribution facilities to supply retail, foodservice and e-commerce channels across its served markets.

The company’s product mix includes single‑serve coffee brewers and coffee pods under the Keurig brand as well as a broad assortment of branded beverages.