AlphaQuest LLC Acquires 70,969 Shares of Kraft Heinz Company $KHC

Key Points

• AlphaQuest LLC sharply increased its Kraft Heinz stake by 2,833.1% in the fourth quarter, buying 70,969 additional shares and bringing its total to 73,474 shares worth about $1.78 million.
• Several other institutional investors also boosted their positions, and institutions now own 78.17% of Kraft Heinz stock. Meanwhile, insider Cory Onell sold 4,991 shares in early March.
• Kraft Heinz beat quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $0.58 EPS on $6.05 billion in revenue, while analysts remain cautious with a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $23.06.

AlphaQuest LLC grew its holdings in Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC - Free Report) by 2,833.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 73,474 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 70,969 shares during the quarter. AlphaQuest LLC's holdings in Kraft Heinz were worth $1,782,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Royce & Associates LP raised its stake in shares of Kraft Heinz by 11.9% during the 4th quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 235,000 shares of the company's stock worth $5,699,000 after acquiring an additional 25,000 shares in the last quarter. Allstate Corp raised its stake in shares of Kraft Heinz by 94.3% during the 4th quarter. Allstate Corp now owns 66,382 shares of the company's stock worth $1,610,000 after acquiring an additional 32,225 shares in the last quarter. Morningstar Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Kraft Heinz by 18.7% during the 4th quarter. Morningstar Investment Management LLC now owns 80,560 shares of the company's stock worth $1,954,000 after acquiring an additional 12,689 shares in the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in Kraft Heinz by 83.8% during the 4th quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 7,157 shares of the company's stock valued at $174,000 after purchasing an additional 3,263 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First National Trust Co increased its stake in Kraft Heinz by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. First National Trust Co now owns 23,886 shares of the company's stock valued at $579,000 after purchasing an additional 820 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.17% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Kraft Heinz

In related news, insider Cory Onell sold 4,991 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.34, for a total transaction of $121,480.94. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 197,463 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,806,249.42. This represents a 2.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KHC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Kraft Heinz from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Evercore cut their price target on shares of Kraft Heinz from $25.00 to $22.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of Kraft Heinz from $24.00 to $20.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 25th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of Kraft Heinz from $23.00 to $20.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Finally, BTIG Research initiated coverage on shares of Kraft Heinz in a research note on Monday, April 13th. They set a "neutral" rating on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Kraft Heinz presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $23.06.

Kraft Heinz Stock Up 2.2%

KHC stock opened at $24.38 on Thursday. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $22.69 and its 200-day simple moving average is $23.68. The company has a market capitalization of $28.91 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.02 and a beta of 0.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 1.20 and a quick ratio of 0.82. Kraft Heinz Company has a 12 month low of $21.03 and a 12 month high of $29.19.

Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $6.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.89 billion. Kraft Heinz had a negative net margin of 23.05% and a positive return on equity of 7.26%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.62 EPS. Kraft Heinz has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.980-2.100 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Kraft Heinz Company will post 2.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Kraft Heinz Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.6%. Kraft Heinz's dividend payout ratio is -32.92%.

About Kraft Heinz

The Kraft Heinz Company NASDAQ: KHC is a global food and beverage company formed in 2015 through the merger of Kraft Foods Group and H.J. Heinz Company. The combination created one of the largest packaged-food companies in the world, built around well-known consumer brands. The merger was supported by major investors and established a multi-national platform for branded food products.

Kraft Heinz develops, manufactures, markets and distributes a broad portfolio of branded packaged foods and condiments.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding KHC? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.