Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Makes New Investment in Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC)

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased 65,561 shares of Kraft Heinz Company, valued at approximately $1,995,000, marking a new position for the institutional investor.
• Kraft Heinz Company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.40 per share payable on September 26, 2023, offering a 5.8% dividend yield.
• Analyst ratings for Kraft Heinz reflect a consensus of "Hold" with a current average price target of $30.35, indicating varied outlooks among research analysts.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 65,561 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,995,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of KHC. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in Kraft Heinz by 493.4% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 12,354 shares of the company's stock valued at $376,000 after acquiring an additional 10,272 shares in the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its position in shares of Kraft Heinz by 7.8% during the 1st quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 90,252 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,746,000 after purchasing an additional 6,551 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in shares of Kraft Heinz by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 8,171,720 shares of the company's stock valued at $248,665,000 after purchasing an additional 103,548 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Kraft Heinz by 28.1% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 15,794 shares of the company's stock valued at $481,000 after purchasing an additional 3,468 shares during the period. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Kraft Heinz by 58.3% during the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 22,111 shares of the company's stock valued at $671,000 after purchasing an additional 8,144 shares during the period. 78.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Kraft Heinz

In other Kraft Heinz news, Director Elio Leoni Sceti sold 25,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.91, for a total transaction of $697,750.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 40,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,116,400. This represents a 38.46% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.35% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on KHC shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Kraft Heinz from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Kraft Heinz from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. DZ Bank downgraded Kraft Heinz from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $31.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Friday, May 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Kraft Heinz from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $25.00 to $27.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Kraft Heinz from $31.00 to $30.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have given a hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Kraft Heinz presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $30.35.

Kraft Heinz Stock Performance

Kraft Heinz stock traded up $0.24 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $27.04. The stock had a trading volume of 10,628,399 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,197,340. The company has a 50-day moving average of $26.88 and a two-hundred day moving average of $28.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The company has a market cap of $32.00 billion, a PE ratio of -6.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.23. Kraft Heinz Company has a fifty-two week low of $25.44 and a fifty-two week high of $36.53.

Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.05. Kraft Heinz had a positive return on equity of 7.40% and a negative net margin of 20.83%. The company had revenue of $6.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.26 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.78 EPS. The company's revenue was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Kraft Heinz Company will post 2.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kraft Heinz Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.9%. Kraft Heinz's dividend payout ratio is currently -35.63%.

Kraft Heinz Company 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.