Keurig Dr Pepper (NASDAQ:KDP) Shares Gap Up After Earnings Beat

Keurig Dr Pepper Inc. (NASDAQ:KDP) gapped up prior to trading on Thursday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock had previously closed at $32.34, but opened at $33.95. Keurig Dr Pepper shares last traded at $33.56, with a volume of 2,772,037 shares changing hands.

The company reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.04. Keurig Dr Pepper had a net margin of 14.72% and a return on equity of 9.93%. The firm had revenue of $3.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.41 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.34 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year.

Keurig Dr Pepper Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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 was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $0.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.55%. Keurig Dr Pepper’s payout ratio is currently 55.48%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wedbush lowered their target price on shares of Keurig Dr Pepper from $37.00 to $35.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on Keurig Dr Pepper from $37.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of Keurig Dr Pepper from $42.00 to $41.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Keurig Dr Pepper from $37.00 to $34.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Keurig Dr Pepper from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $36.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Keurig Dr Pepper news, major shareholder Holdings B.V. Jab sold 13,043,478 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.90, for a total value of $376,956,514.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 283,443,879 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,191,528,103.10. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Robert S. Singer sold 12,132 shares of Keurig Dr Pepper stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.25, for a total value of $354,861.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 37,643 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,101,057.75. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Holdings B.V. Jab sold 13,043,478 shares of Keurig Dr Pepper stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.90, for a total transaction of $376,956,514.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 283,443,879 shares in the company, valued at $8,191,528,103.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 100,012,132 shares of company stock worth $2,890,354,861 in the last 90 days. 0.81% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Keurig Dr Pepper

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital World Investors lifted its position in Keurig Dr Pepper by 14.6% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 108,032,566 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,599,652,000 after purchasing an additional 13,738,345 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Keurig Dr Pepper by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 83,014,973 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,766,059,000 after buying an additional 818,426 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Keurig Dr Pepper by 12.9% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 60,682,003 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,915,731,000 after buying an additional 6,926,582 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its position in shares of Keurig Dr Pepper by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 56,060,464 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,867,937,000 after buying an additional 730,112 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Keurig Dr Pepper by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 42,458,054 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,340,401,000 after buying an additional 953,639 shares in the last quarter. 85.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Keurig Dr Pepper Price Performance

The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $30.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $31.08. The company has a market capitalization of $46.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

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.