Smithfield Trust Co Increases Stock Holdings in The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC)

Smithfield Trust Co raised its stake in The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) by 91.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,418 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,633 shares during the quarter. Smithfield Trust Co’s holdings in Kraft Heinz were worth $121,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of KHC. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Kraft Heinz by 83.4% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 8,709,714 shares of the company’s stock valued at $321,388,000 after buying an additional 3,961,872 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Kraft Heinz by 47.3% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,536,214 shares of the company’s stock worth $178,379,000 after purchasing an additional 1,778,263 shares during the last quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC raised its holdings in Kraft Heinz by 387.7% during the third quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC now owns 1,455,033 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,086,000 after purchasing an additional 1,156,712 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in Kraft Heinz by 260.8% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,169,657 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,686,000 after purchasing an additional 845,490 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Poplar Forest Capital LLC acquired a new position in Kraft Heinz during the second quarter worth $26,353,000. 78.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kraft Heinz Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of KHC stock opened at $31.10 on Friday. The Kraft Heinz Company has a 1-year low of $30.40 and a 1-year high of $38.96. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $34.16 and its 200-day simple moving average is $34.29. The firm has a market cap of $37.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.01, a PEG ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 0.56.

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

Kraft Heinz Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.15%. Kraft Heinz’s dividend payout ratio is presently 144.14%.

Insider Transactions at Kraft Heinz

In other news, EVP Pedro F. P. Navio sold 45,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.45, for a total transaction of $1,505,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 168,195 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,626,122.75. The trade was a 21.11 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KHC has been the subject of several research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on Kraft Heinz from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut Kraft Heinz from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $39.00 to $35.00 in a report on Thursday, October 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Kraft Heinz from $38.00 to $37.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Stifel Nicolaus cut Kraft Heinz from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $40.00 to $38.00 in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Mizuho cut their price target on Kraft Heinz from $43.00 to $41.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $36.55.

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.