Alliancebernstein L.P. Raises Stock Holdings in Kraft Heinz Company $KHC

Key Points

• Alliancebernstein L.P. has increased its stake in Kraft Heinz Company by 1.3%, owning 898,878 shares worth approximately $27.4 million as of the end of the first quarter.
• Kraft Heinz recently reported earnings of $0.69 per share, exceeding expectations, but its revenue declined by 1.9% year-over-year, amounting to $6.35 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.40 per share, representing an annual yield of 6.0%, with the ex-dividend date set for August 29th.

Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its stake in Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC - Free Report) by 1.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 898,878 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 11,121 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned approximately 0.08% of Kraft Heinz worth $27,353,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of KHC. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Kraft Heinz by 12.7% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 101,980,834 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,103,277,000 after buying an additional 11,472,071 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Kraft Heinz by 4,390.7% in the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 7,444,062 shares of the company's stock valued at $226,523,000 after buying an additional 7,278,295 shares during the period. Southeastern Asset Management Inc. TN purchased a new stake in Kraft Heinz in the 4th quarter valued at about $87,080,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Kraft Heinz in the 1st quarter valued at about $61,110,000. Finally, Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC increased its stake in Kraft Heinz by 1,830.2% during the fourth quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 1,936,367 shares of the company's stock worth $59,466,000 after purchasing an additional 1,836,048 shares during the period. 78.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kraft Heinz Stock Down 1.5%

Shares of Kraft Heinz stock traded down $0.39 on Friday, reaching $26.13. 17,147,275 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 13,103,204. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $27.48 and its 200-day moving average price is $28.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 0.66. The company has a market cap of $30.93 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.23. Kraft Heinz Company has a 1-year low of $25.44 and a 1-year high of $36.31.

Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $6.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.26 billion. Kraft Heinz had a positive return on equity of 7.40% and a negative net margin of 20.83%.The firm's quarterly revenue was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.78 earnings per share. Kraft Heinz has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.510-2.670 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Kraft Heinz Company will post 2.68 EPS for the current year.

Kraft Heinz Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Investors of record on Friday, August 29th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. Kraft Heinz's dividend payout ratio is -35.63%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Kraft Heinz from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $25.00 to $27.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Kraft Heinz from $29.00 to $27.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. UBS Group set a $28.00 price target on shares of Kraft Heinz and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Kraft Heinz from $30.00 to $28.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. Finally, Mizuho set a $29.00 price target on shares of Kraft Heinz and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Kraft Heinz currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $29.76.

Insider Transactions at Kraft Heinz

In related news, Director Elio Leoni Sceti sold 25,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.91, for a total value of $697,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 40,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,116,400. This represents a 38.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.35% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Kraft Heinz

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.