Costello Asset Management INC Sells 16,189 Shares of Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC)

Key Points

• Costello Asset Management INC reduced its stake in Kraft Heinz Company by 40.6%, holding 23,680 shares worth approximately $721,000 after selling 16,189 shares in the first quarter.
• During the same period, several institutional investors, including Versant Capital Management and D.A. Davidson & CO., increased their positions in Kraft Heinz, highlighting a mix of sentiment among large shareholders.
• Kraft Heinz announced a quarterly dividend of $0.40 per share, providing an annualized yield of 6.0%, with the payment scheduled for September 26th.

Costello Asset Management INC lessened its stake in shares of Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC - Free Report) by 40.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 23,680 shares of the company's stock after selling 16,189 shares during the quarter. Costello Asset Management INC's holdings in Kraft Heinz were worth $721,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of Kraft Heinz by 12.6% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,289,691 shares of the company's stock valued at $285,286,000 after buying an additional 1,039,885 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in Kraft Heinz by 23.4% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 8,585,167 shares of the company's stock valued at $263,650,000 after acquiring an additional 1,628,516 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in Kraft Heinz by 1.3% in 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. raised its stake in shares of Kraft Heinz by 4,390.7% in the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 7,444,062 shares of the company's stock worth $226,523,000 after acquiring an additional 7,278,295 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Kraft Heinz by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,525,110 shares of the company's stock worth $200,369,000 after purchasing an additional 174,706 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.17% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on KHC. The Goldman Sachs Group raised 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. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Kraft Heinz to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Kraft Heinz from $31.00 to $30.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. DZ Bank lowered Kraft Heinz from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $31.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Cfra Research downgraded Kraft Heinz from a "moderate buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seventeen have assigned a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $30.35.

Kraft Heinz Stock Performance

Shares of Kraft Heinz stock traded up $0.39 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $27.65. The company had a trading volume of 9,889,293 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,858,400. The firm has a market cap of $32.73 billion, a PE ratio of -6.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.23. Kraft Heinz Company has a one year low of $25.44 and a one year high of $36.53. 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 business has a fifty day simple moving average of $26.91 and a 200 day simple moving average of $28.48.

Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 in the previous year, the company earned $0.78 earnings per share. Kraft Heinz's revenue for the quarter was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Kraft Heinz Company will post 2.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kraft Heinz Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.8%. Kraft Heinz's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -35.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kraft Heinz

In related news, Director Elio Leoni Sceti sold 25,000 shares of the business'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 sale, the director owned 40,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,116,400. The trade was a 38.46% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.35% of the company's stock.

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.