King Luther Capital Management Corp Sells 726,171 Shares of Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC)

Key Points

• King Luther Capital Management Corp has significantly reduced its stake in Kraft Heinz, selling 726,171 shares, which represents a decrease of 48.4%, leaving them with 773,223 shares valued at approximately $23.5 million.
• Analysts have mixed sentiments on Kraft Heinz, with the average target price currently at $30.35, while three analysts maintain a sell rating and seventeen rate it as a hold.
• Kraft Heinz recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.40 per share, with an annualized yield of 5.8%, signifying a commitment to returning value to shareholders despite a negative profit margin.

King Luther Capital Management Corp decreased its stake in Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC - Free Report) by 48.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 773,223 shares of the company's stock after selling 726,171 shares during the period. King Luther Capital Management Corp owned 0.07% of Kraft Heinz worth $23,529,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in KHC. Rossby Financial LCC acquired a new position in shares of Kraft Heinz during the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Wayfinding Financial LLC acquired a new position in Kraft Heinz during the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. Investment Management Corp VA ADV increased its holdings in shares of Kraft Heinz by 141.7% during the first quarter. Investment Management Corp VA ADV now owns 1,141 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 669 shares in the last quarter. Pinney & Scofield Inc. bought a new position in shares of Kraft Heinz in the 4th quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Abound Wealth Management grew its position 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 institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein cut shares of Kraft Heinz from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $34.00 to $31.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Kraft Heinz to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Argus reissued a "hold" rating and set a $28.02 price objective on shares of Kraft Heinz in a report on Thursday. Mizuho set a $29.00 target price on shares of Kraft Heinz and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, Cfra Research lowered Kraft Heinz from a "moderate buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eighteen have given a hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $30.22.

Kraft Heinz Price Performance

KHC stock traded down $0.37 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $27.65. 15,030,462 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 12,504,745. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $26.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $28.43. 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 current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 0.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.16, a PEG ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.23.

Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $6.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.26 billion. Kraft Heinz had a positive return on equity of 7.40% and a negative net margin of 20.83%. Kraft Heinz's revenue for the quarter was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.78 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Kraft Heinz Company will post 2.68 EPS for the current year.

Kraft Heinz Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Investors 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 payout ratio is currently -35.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kraft Heinz

In other Kraft Heinz news, Director Elio Leoni Sceti sold 25,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director directly owned 40,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,116,400. The trade was a 38.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.35% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.