Russell Investments Group Ltd. Boosts Position in Keurig Dr Pepper Inc. (NASDAQ:KDP)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its position in Keurig Dr Pepper Inc. (NASDAQ:KDP) by 133.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 856,798 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 489,439 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned 0.06% of Keurig Dr Pepper worth $26,754,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Keurig Dr Pepper by 99,740.8% during the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 324,915,003 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,586,469,000 after acquiring an additional 324,589,570 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in Keurig Dr Pepper by 32.1% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 39,827,389 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,405,110,000 after buying an additional 9,685,210 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Keurig Dr Pepper during the 4th quarter valued at $276,547,000. FMR LLC increased its position in Keurig Dr Pepper by 14.5% during the first quarter. FMR LLC now owns 50,195,232 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,770,888,000 after buying an additional 6,338,412 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Keurig Dr Pepper in the first quarter worth $140,495,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.29% of the company’s stock.

Keurig Dr Pepper Stock Performance

Shares of KDP stock opened at $31.78 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $30.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $31.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.39 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.67. Keurig Dr Pepper Inc. has a 12 month low of $27.66 and a 12 month high of $38.94.

Keurig Dr Pepper (NASDAQ:KDP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 26th. The company reported $0.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.47 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $3.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.77 billion. Keurig Dr Pepper had a return on equity of 9.76% and a net margin of 13.16%. Keurig Dr Pepper’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.46 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Keurig Dr Pepper Inc. will post 1.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Keurig Dr Pepper Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 29th were given a dividend of $0.215 per share. This is a boost from Keurig Dr Pepper’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 28th. This represents a $0.86 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.71%. Keurig Dr Pepper’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.32%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KDP has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group upgraded Keurig Dr Pepper from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $37.00 to $42.00 in a research report on Tuesday, August 15th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Keurig Dr Pepper from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 30th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Keurig Dr Pepper in a research report on Monday, November 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $39.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Keurig Dr Pepper from $39.00 to $37.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 27th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective on Keurig Dr Pepper from $37.00 to $33.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $37.20.

Insider Activity at Keurig Dr Pepper

In other news, insider Karin Rotem-Wildeman bought 7,050 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 27th. The stock was bought at an average price of $29.95 per share, for a total transaction of $211,147.50. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 69,448 shares in the company, valued at $2,079,967.60. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, insider Karin Rotem-Wildeman bought 7,050 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 27th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $29.95 per share, for a total transaction of $211,147.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now directly owns 69,448 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,079,967.60. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Timothy P. Cofer acquired 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 6th. The shares were bought at an average price of $31.26 per share, with a total value of $1,563,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief operating officer now owns 350,393 shares in the company, valued at $10,953,285.18. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders bought a total of 72,050 shares of company stock valued at $2,240,048 over the last three months. 0.81% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Keurig Dr Pepper

Keurig Dr Pepper Inc operates as a beverage company in the United States and internationally. It operates through four segments: Coffee Systems, Packaged Beverages, Beverage Concentrates, and Latin America Beverages. The Coffee Systems segment manufactures and distributes various finished goods related to its coffee systems, K-Cup pods, and brewers, as well as specialty coffee.