Kraft Heinz Company $KHC Shares Bought by Generali Asset Management SPA SGR

Key Points

• Generali Asset Management boosted its stake in Kraft Heinz by 192.4% in Q3 to 81,260 shares worth about $2.12 million, and institutional investors now own roughly 78.17% of the company.
• Multiple analysts have cut price targets (including Mizuho, Goldman, HSBC, UBS), leaving a consensus target of $26.63 and an average rating of Reduce.
• Kraft Heinz pays a quarterly dividend of $0.40 (annualized $1.60) for a yield of 6.6%, but its payout ratio is negative (-42.9%), indicating potential sustainability concerns.

Generali Asset Management SPA SGR lifted its position in shares of Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC - Free Report) by 192.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 81,260 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 53,467 shares during the period. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR's holdings in Kraft Heinz were worth $2,116,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Mather Group LLC. purchased a new stake in Kraft Heinz during the third quarter valued at about $394,000. Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Kraft Heinz by 7.0% in the 3rd quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 21,780 shares of the company's stock valued at $567,000 after purchasing an additional 1,416 shares in the last quarter. Calamos Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kraft Heinz during the 3rd quarter worth about $244,000. Ascent Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Kraft Heinz by 123.8% during the 3rd quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 33,398 shares of the company's stock worth $870,000 after purchasing an additional 18,476 shares during the period. Finally, Strategic Planning Inc. increased its position in Kraft Heinz by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Strategic Planning Inc. now owns 282,926 shares of the company's stock worth $7,367,000 after purchasing an additional 3,541 shares in the last quarter. 78.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of Kraft Heinz from $29.00 to $27.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on shares of Kraft Heinz from $30.00 to $27.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. HSBC decreased their price target on shares of Kraft Heinz from $29.00 to $27.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. DZ Bank raised Kraft Heinz from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, September 19th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price objective on Kraft Heinz from $27.00 to $25.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $26.63.

Kraft Heinz Stock Performance

Kraft Heinz stock opened at $24.39 on Friday. Kraft Heinz Company has a 12-month low of $23.60 and a 12-month high of $33.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The company has a market capitalization of $28.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.54 and a beta of 0.09. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $24.64 and its 200 day moving average price is $25.98.

Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, July 8th. The company reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter. Kraft Heinz had a positive return on equity of 7.26% and a negative net margin of 17.35%.The company had revenue of $6.39 billion during the quarter. On average, research analysts forecast that Kraft Heinz Company will post 2.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kraft Heinz Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 28th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 28th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.6%. Kraft Heinz's payout ratio is currently -42.90%.

Insider Activity

In other Kraft Heinz news, insider Miguel Patricio sold 125,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.82, for a total value of $3,102,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 686,817 shares of the company's stock, valued at $17,046,797.94. This represents a 15.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.

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