KBC Group NV Trims Stock Holdings in The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC)

KBC Group NV trimmed its position in shares of The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) by 59.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 499,971 shares of the company’s stock after selling 727,792 shares during the period. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Kraft Heinz were worth $17,554,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Clifford Capital Partners LLC grew its position in Kraft Heinz by 21.4% in the second quarter. Clifford Capital Partners LLC now owns 454,884 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,656,000 after acquiring an additional 80,101 shares in the last quarter. Easterly Investment Partners LLC lifted its stake in Kraft Heinz by 39.4% in the third quarter. Easterly Investment Partners LLC now owns 157,479 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,529,000 after purchasing an additional 44,485 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Kraft Heinz by 13.2% in the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 2,006,917 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,053,000 after buying an additional 234,783 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Kraft Heinz by 1,760.8% during the third quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 655,312 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,008,000 after purchasing an additional 620,096 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Smith Thornton Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Kraft Heinz in the second quarter worth about $654,000. 78.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Barclays decreased their price objective on Kraft Heinz from $36.00 to $35.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Mizuho decreased their price objective on Kraft Heinz from $43.00 to $41.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of Kraft Heinz from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on shares of Kraft Heinz from $42.00 to $38.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Kraft Heinz from $38.00 to $37.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $37.00.

Kraft Heinz Stock Down 2.0 %

KHC stock opened at $31.14 on Friday. The Kraft Heinz Company has a 12 month low of $30.40 and a 12 month high of $38.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 0.56. The company has a market capitalization of $37.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.67 and a beta of 0.49. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $34.62 and its 200-day simple moving average is $34.52.

Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $6.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.42 billion. Kraft Heinz had a net margin of 5.24% and a return on equity of 7.46%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.72 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that The Kraft Heinz Company will post 3.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Kraft Heinz Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.14%. Kraft Heinz’s dividend payout ratio is currently 144.14%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kraft Heinz news, EVP Pedro F. P. Navio sold 45,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.45, for a total value of $1,505,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 168,195 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,626,122.75. This trade represents a 21.11 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.32% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Kraft Heinz Profile

The Kraft Heinz Company, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and markets food and beverage products in North America and internationally. Its products include condiments and sauces, cheese and dairy products, meals, meats, refreshment beverages, coffee, and other grocery products under the Kraft, Oscar Mayer, Heinz, Philadelphia, Lunchables, Velveeta, Ore-Ida, Maxwell House, Kool-Aid, Jell-O, Heinz, ABC, Master, Quero, Kraft, Golden Circle, Wattie's, Pudliszki, and Plasmon brands.