Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) Shares Sold by Scotia Capital Inc.

Key Points

• Scotia Capital Inc. reduced its holdings in Kraft Heinz Company by 28.4%, owning 85,831 shares after selling 34,023 shares, which represents a value of $2.61 million.
• Other institutional investors have similarly adjusted their positions, with Versant Capital Management Inc. raising its stake by 493.4% in the first quarter.
• Kraft Heinz recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.40 per share, with an annualized yield of 5.9%, to be paid on September 26th.

Scotia Capital Inc. lowered its holdings in Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC - Free Report) by 28.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 85,831 shares of the company's stock after selling 34,023 shares during the period. Scotia Capital Inc.'s holdings in Kraft Heinz were worth $2,612,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in KHC. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Kraft Heinz by 12.6% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,289,691 shares of the company's stock worth $285,286,000 after acquiring an additional 1,039,885 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in Kraft Heinz by 23.4% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 8,585,167 shares of the company's stock worth $263,650,000 after acquiring an additional 1,628,516 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in Kraft Heinz by 1.3% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 8,171,720 shares of the company's stock worth $248,665,000 after acquiring an additional 103,548 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in 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 stake in Kraft Heinz by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,525,110 shares of the company's stock worth $200,369,000 after acquiring an additional 174,706 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.17% of the company's stock.

Kraft Heinz Stock Performance

KHC stock traded up $0.11 on Friday, hitting $27.76. The company's stock had a trading volume of 9,265,738 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,561,108. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $26.91 and a two-hundred day moving average of $28.48. Kraft Heinz Company has a 1 year low of $25.44 and a 1 year high of $36.53. The stock has a market cap of $32.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $6.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.26 billion. Kraft Heinz had a negative net margin of 20.83% and a positive return on equity of 7.40%. Kraft Heinz's revenue was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.78 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Kraft Heinz Company will post 2.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kraft Heinz Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on KHC shares. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded shares of Kraft Heinz from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $34.00 to $31.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Kraft Heinz from $31.00 to $30.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. DZ Bank downgraded shares of Kraft Heinz from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $31.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Kraft Heinz to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Mizuho set a $29.00 price objective on shares of Kraft Heinz and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seventeen have given a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $30.35.

Insider Transactions 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 shares were sold at an average price of $27.91, for a total value of $697,750.00. Following the transaction, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate 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.