AustralianSuper Pty Ltd Increases Position in Kraft Heinz Company $KHC

Key Points

• AustralianSuper Pty Ltd increased its Kraft Heinz stake by 68.7% in the fourth quarter, ending with 2.05 million shares valued at about $49.8 million. Several other institutional investors also raised positions, and institutions now own 78.17% of the stock.
• Wall Street sentiment remains cautious: multiple analysts cut price targets or reiterated bearish views, and Kraft Heinz currently carries a consensus rating of "Reduce" with an average target price of $23.06.
• The company reported quarterly earnings of $0.58 per share, beating estimates, and revenue of $6.05 billion, also above expectations. Kraft Heinz also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.40 per share, implying a 6.9% annualized yield.

AustralianSuper Pty Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC - Free Report) by 68.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,052,635 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 835,554 shares during the quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd owned 0.17% of Kraft Heinz worth $49,776,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of KHC. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Kraft Heinz by 2,264.5% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 1,458,451 shares of the company's stock worth $35,367,000 after buying an additional 1,396,770 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in Kraft Heinz by 112.2% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,491,597 shares of the company's stock worth $64,872,000 after buying an additional 1,317,201 shares during the last quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd raised its position in Kraft Heinz by 148.4% in the fourth quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 2,168,874 shares of the company's stock worth $52,595,000 after acquiring an additional 1,295,688 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Kraft Heinz by 77.5% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,826,152 shares of the company's stock valued at $73,593,000 after acquiring an additional 1,234,078 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Compass Rose Asset Management LP purchased a new position in Kraft Heinz in the third quarter valued at about $23,436,000. 78.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d)" rating on shares of Kraft Heinz in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Mizuho reduced their price objective on Kraft Heinz from $27.00 to $25.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Kraft Heinz from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Kraft Heinz from $25.00 to $23.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, Evercore cut their price target on Kraft Heinz from $25.00 to $22.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Kraft Heinz currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $23.06.

Insider Transactions at Kraft Heinz

In other Kraft Heinz news, insider Cory Onell sold 4,991 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.34, for a total value of $121,480.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 197,463 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,806,249.42. This trade represents a 2.47% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Kraft Heinz Stock Performance

NASDAQ:KHC opened at $23.31 on Friday. The business's fifty day moving average is $22.67 and its 200 day moving average is $23.75. The firm has a market cap of $27.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.80 and a beta of 0.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 1.20. Kraft Heinz Company has a 52-week low of $21.03 and a 52-week high of $29.19.

Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.08. Kraft Heinz had a positive return on equity of 7.26% and a negative net margin of 23.05%.The business had revenue of $6.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.89 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.62 EPS. The firm's revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. Kraft Heinz has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.980-2.100 EPS. Research analysts predict that Kraft Heinz Company will post 2.06 EPS for the current year.

Kraft Heinz Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. Kraft Heinz's dividend payout ratio is -32.92%.

Kraft Heinz Company Profile

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.

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