Equitable Trust Co. Cuts Position in Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC)

Key Points

• Equitable Trust Co. reduced its holdings in Kraft Heinz Company by 27.8%, selling 13,199 shares and leaving it with 34,205 shares valued at approximately $1,041,000.
• Director Elio Leoni Sceti sold 25,000 shares of Kraft Heinz at an average price of $27.91, which decreased his ownership by 38.46%, now holding 40,000 shares worth about $1,116,400.
• Kraft Heinz recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.40, representing an annualized yield of 5.58% and a payout ratio of 73.06%.

Equitable Trust Co. lessened its position in shares of Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC - Free Report) by 27.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 34,205 shares of the company's stock after selling 13,199 shares during the quarter. Equitable Trust Co.'s holdings in Kraft Heinz were worth $1,041,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Rossby Financial LCC acquired a new position in Kraft Heinz in the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Wayfinding Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Kraft Heinz in the 1st quarter valued at about $33,000. Pinney & Scofield Inc. purchased a new stake in Kraft Heinz in the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. Abound Wealth Management grew its holdings in Kraft Heinz by 1,157.0% in the 1st quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 1,257 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 1,157 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Analysts LLC grew its holdings in Kraft Heinz by 50.5% in the 4th quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 1,507 shares of the company's stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 506 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.17% of the company's stock.

Kraft Heinz Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ KHC traded up $0.10 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $28.66. 7,583,222 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 12,393,768. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 1.31 and a quick ratio of 0.81. Kraft Heinz Company has a twelve month low of $25.44 and a twelve month high of $36.53. The company has a market cap of $33.92 billion, a PE ratio of 13.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.25. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $26.79 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $28.55.

Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $6.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.26 billion. Kraft Heinz had a return on equity of 7.37% and a net margin of 10.44%. The firm's revenue was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.78 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Kraft Heinz Company will post 2.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kraft Heinz Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Investors of record on Friday, August 29th will be given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.58%. Kraft Heinz's payout ratio is 73.06%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein cut Kraft Heinz from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $34.00 to $31.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. UBS Group dropped their price target on Kraft Heinz from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Cfra Research lowered Kraft Heinz from a "moderate buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Kraft Heinz from $31.00 to $30.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised Kraft Heinz from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $25.00 to $27.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have given a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $30.29.

Insider Buying and Selling

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