LGT Group Foundation Grows Stock Position in Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC)

Key Points

• LGT Group Foundation has increased its stake in Kraft Heinz Company by 77.5%, owning 34,141 shares worth approximately $1.04 million as of the latest filing.
• Institutional investors hold a significant portion of Kraft Heinz, with 78.17% of the stock owned by hedge funds and other institutions.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.40, representing a 5.9% dividend yield annualized.

LGT Group Foundation grew its position in Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC - Free Report) by 77.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 34,141 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 14,906 shares during the period. LGT Group Foundation's holdings in Kraft Heinz were worth $1,039,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in Kraft Heinz by 493.4% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 12,354 shares of the company's stock worth $376,000 after buying an additional 10,272 shares during the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its stake in shares of Kraft Heinz by 7.8% in the first quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 90,252 shares of the company's stock worth $2,746,000 after acquiring an additional 6,551 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of 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 period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Kraft Heinz by 28.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 15,794 shares of the company's stock worth $481,000 after acquiring an additional 3,468 shares during the period. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Kraft Heinz by 58.3% in the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 22,111 shares of the company's stock worth $671,000 after acquiring an additional 8,144 shares during the period. 78.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kraft Heinz Price Performance

KHC traded down $0.37 during trading on Thursday, reaching $27.65. 15,032,417 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 13,519,363. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 1.07. Kraft Heinz Company has a 12-month low of $25.44 and a 12-month high of $36.53. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $27.00 and a 200 day simple moving average of $28.42. The company has a market cap of $32.73 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.16, a PEG ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 0.23.

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 analysts' consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $6.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.26 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.78 EPS. The company's revenue was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Kraft Heinz Company will post 2.68 EPS for the current year.

Kraft Heinz Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Kraft Heinz

In other news, Director Elio Leoni Sceti sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.91, for a total transaction of $697,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 40,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,116,400. This represents a 38.46% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.35% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on KHC. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Kraft Heinz from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $25.00 to $27.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. 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. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Kraft Heinz from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Kraft Heinz from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein cut shares of Kraft Heinz from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $34.00 to $31.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eighteen have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $30.22.

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.