The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) Shares Purchased by CWA Asset Management Group LLC

CWA Asset Management Group LLC boosted its holdings in The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC – Get Rating) by 9.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 16,498 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,406 shares during the quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC’s holdings in Kraft Heinz were worth $672,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KHC. Horan Securities Inc. increased its position in shares of Kraft Heinz by 206.4% during the 3rd quarter. Horan Securities Inc. now owns 766 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 516 shares during the period. Ossiam bought a new stake in shares of Kraft Heinz during the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. O Dell Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kraft Heinz by 204.0% during the 3rd quarter. O Dell Group LLC now owns 845 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 567 shares in the last quarter. TD Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kraft Heinz during the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Pittenger & Anderson Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Kraft Heinz during the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. 68.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Kraft Heinz

In other news, EVP Flavio Torres sold 250,571 shares of Kraft Heinz stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.58, for a total value of $9,917,600.18. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 188,983 shares in the company, valued at $7,479,947.14. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, EVP Melissa Werneck sold 3,500 shares of Kraft Heinz stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.39, for a total transaction of $148,365.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 266,583 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,300,453.37. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Flavio Torres sold 250,571 shares of Kraft Heinz stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.58, for a total value of $9,917,600.18. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 188,983 shares in the company, valued at $7,479,947.14. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on KHC shares. Credit Suisse Group reissued an “underperform” rating and set a $38.00 price objective (up from $36.00) on shares of Kraft Heinz in a research note on Thursday, February 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on Kraft Heinz from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 6th. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on Kraft Heinz in a research report on Tuesday, January 3rd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $43.00 target price for the company. UBS Group raised their target price on Kraft Heinz from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 16th. Finally, Mizuho raised their target price on Kraft Heinz from $48.00 to $50.00 in a research report on Friday, January 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $42.92.

Kraft Heinz Price Performance

NASDAQ KHC opened at $37.63 on Friday. The Kraft Heinz Company has a fifty-two week low of $32.73 and a fifty-two week high of $44.87. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $39.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $38.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.47. The firm has a market cap of $46.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 0.70.

Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC – Get Rating) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 15th. The company reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.07. Kraft Heinz had a return on equity of 7.03% and a net margin of 8.92%. The company had revenue of $7.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.23 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.79 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that The Kraft Heinz Company will post 2.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kraft Heinz Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 10th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 9th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.25%. Kraft Heinz’s payout ratio is presently 83.77%.

About Kraft Heinz

(Get Rating)

The Kraft Heinz Co engages in the manufacture and market of food and beverage products. The firm operates through the following geographical segments: United States, Canada and International. Its brands include Oscar Meyer, Velveeta, Smart Ones, Caprisun, Kool-Aid, Golden circle and Honig. The company was founded on July 2, 2015, and is headquartered in Pittsburgh, PA.