Stephens Inc. AR Sells 143,697 Shares of Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC)

Stephens Inc. AR reduced its stake in Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC - Free Report) by 73.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 51,139 shares of the company's stock after selling 143,697 shares during the period. Stephens Inc. AR's holdings in Kraft Heinz were worth $1,556,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Hara Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Kraft Heinz by 61.9% in the 4th quarter. Hara Capital LLC now owns 1,700 shares of the company's stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 650 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kraft Heinz in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,482,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its position in shares of Kraft Heinz by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 55,155 shares of the company's stock worth $1,708,000 after buying an additional 2,527 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Kraft Heinz by 137.4% in the 4th quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 129,424 shares of the company's stock worth $3,975,000 after buying an additional 74,910 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Generali Asset Management SPA SGR bought a new stake in shares of Kraft Heinz in the 4th quarter worth approximately $721,000. 78.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on KHC. Mizuho set a $29.00 price objective on Kraft Heinz and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Kraft Heinz from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday. UBS Group decreased their price target on Kraft Heinz from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Cfra Research cut Kraft Heinz from a "moderate buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, DZ Bank cut 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. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have assigned a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $30.29.

Kraft Heinz Stock Performance

NASDAQ:KHC traded up $0.55 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $28.13. 17,562,134 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 10,615,604. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $26.69 and its 200-day moving average price is $28.66. Kraft Heinz Company has a one year low of $25.44 and a one year high of $36.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The firm has a market cap of $33.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.25.

Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.02. Kraft Heinz had a return on equity of 7.37% and a net margin of 10.44%. The business had revenue of $6 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.02 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.69 earnings per share. Kraft Heinz's revenue for the quarter was down 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Kraft Heinz Company will post 2.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kraft Heinz Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.69%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 30th. Kraft Heinz's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 73.06%.

Kraft Heinz 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.