Eliot Finkel Investment Counsel LLC Purchases 19,995 Shares of Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC)

Key Points

• Eliot Finkel Investment Counsel LLC increased its stake in Kraft Heinz by 16.3%, acquiring an additional 19,995 shares, which now amount to 142,855 shares, valued at approximately $4.35 million.
• Kraft Heinz recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.40 per share, representing an annualized payout of $1.60, with a dividend yield of 5.8%.
• The company reported earnings per share of $0.69 for the last quarter, exceeding the consensus estimate of $0.64, although it experienced a revenue decline of 1.9% year-over-year.

Eliot Finkel Investment Counsel LLC boosted its holdings in Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC - Free Report) by 16.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 142,855 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 19,995 shares during the period. Kraft Heinz makes up 3.0% of Eliot Finkel Investment Counsel LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Eliot Finkel Investment Counsel LLC's holdings in Kraft Heinz were worth $4,347,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of KHC. Rossby Financial LCC bought a new position in Kraft Heinz in the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new position in Kraft Heinz in the 1st quarter valued at $33,000. Investment Management Corp VA ADV boosted its holdings in Kraft Heinz by 141.7% in the 1st quarter. Investment Management Corp VA ADV now owns 1,141 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 669 shares during the period. Pinney & Scofield Inc. bought a new position in Kraft Heinz in the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Abound Wealth Management boosted 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 purchasing an additional 1,157 shares during the period. 78.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Kraft Heinz from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday. Mizuho set a $29.00 price objective on shares of Kraft Heinz and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Cfra Research downgraded shares of Kraft Heinz from a "moderate buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Kraft Heinz from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Kraft Heinz from $31.00 to $30.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have given a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $30.35.

Kraft Heinz Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ KHC traded down $0.05 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $27.41. 16,933,701 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 18,148,692. Kraft Heinz Company has a 12-month low of $25.44 and a 12-month high of $36.53. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average price of $26.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $28.53. The firm has a market cap of $32.44 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.10, a P/E/G ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.23.

Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $0.69 earnings per share (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 for 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 quarterly revenue was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Kraft Heinz Company will post 2.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Kraft Heinz Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. Kraft Heinz's dividend payout ratio is -35.63%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kraft Heinz news, Director Elio Leoni Sceti sold 25,000 shares of the company'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 sale, the director owned 40,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,116,400. This 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 can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.35% of the company's stock.

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.