Kraft Heinz Company $KHC Shares Sold by AQR Capital Management LLC

Key Points

• AQR Capital Management LLC sold 184,586 shares of Kraft Heinz Company, reducing its ownership by 7.0%, and now holds approximately 0.21% of the company valued at $74.7 million.
• Several institutional investors have increased their positions in Kraft Heinz, with 78.17% of the company's stock now owned by institutional shareholders.
• Kraft Heinz announced a quarterly dividend of $0.40 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 5.9% and a negative payout ratio of -35.63%.

AQR Capital Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC - Free Report) by 7.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,456,342 shares of the company's stock after selling 184,586 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC owned about 0.21% of Kraft Heinz worth $74,746,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Kraft Heinz by 12.7% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 101,980,834 shares of the company's stock worth $3,103,277,000 after purchasing an additional 11,472,071 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in shares of Kraft Heinz by 23.4% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 8,585,167 shares of the company's stock worth $263,650,000 after purchasing an additional 1,628,516 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 103,548 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Kraft Heinz by 4,390.7% during the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 7,444,062 shares of the company's stock valued at $226,523,000 after acquiring an additional 7,278,295 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Kraft Heinz by 5.4% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,875,177 shares of the company's stock valued at $209,201,000 after acquiring an additional 350,067 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.17% of the company's stock.

Kraft Heinz Stock Performance

Kraft Heinz stock traded down $0.39 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $26.90. 17,968,541 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 13,326,064. Kraft Heinz Company has a 12-month low of $25.44 and a 12-month high of $36.31. The stock has a market cap of $31.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 1.07. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $27.49 and its 200 day simple moving average is $28.17.

Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.05. Kraft Heinz had a negative net margin of 20.83% and a positive return on equity of 7.40%. The company had revenue of $6.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.26 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.78 EPS. The business's revenue was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. Kraft Heinz has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.510-2.670 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Kraft Heinz Company will post 2.68 EPS for the current year.

Kraft Heinz Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. Kraft Heinz's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -35.63%.

Insider Activity at Kraft Heinz

In related news, Director Elio Leoni Sceti sold 25,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.91, for a total value of $697,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 40,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,116,400. This trade represents a 38.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.35% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on KHC. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Kraft Heinz from $29.00 to $27.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Kraft Heinz to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. UBS Group set a $28.00 target price on shares of Kraft Heinz and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley set a $29.00 target price on shares of Kraft Heinz and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Finally, Mizuho set a $29.00 target price on shares of Kraft Heinz and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $29.76.

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.