Mizuho Securities USA LLC Has $2.13 Million Stock Position in Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC)

Key Points

• Mizuho Securities USA LLC reduced its stake in Kraft Heinz Company by 16.5% in the first quarter, holding 69,848 shares valued at approximately $2.1 million.
• The company recently reported earnings of $0.69 EPS, exceeding analyst estimates of $0.64, although revenue declined by 1.9% year-over-year.
• Kraft Heinz announced a quarterly dividend of $0.40, representing an annual yield of 5.8%, with the dividend payout planned for September 26th.

Mizuho Securities USA LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC - Free Report) by 16.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 69,848 shares of the company's stock after selling 13,812 shares during the quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC's holdings in Kraft Heinz were worth $2,125,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KHC. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Kraft Heinz by 12.7% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 101,980,834 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,103,277,000 after buying an additional 11,472,071 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Kraft Heinz by 12.6% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,289,691 shares of the company's stock valued at $285,286,000 after purchasing an additional 1,039,885 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Kraft Heinz by 23.4% during 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 valued at $263,650,000 after purchasing an additional 1,628,516 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Kraft Heinz by 1.3% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 8,171,720 shares of the company's stock valued at $248,665,000 after purchasing an additional 103,548 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Kraft Heinz by 4,390.7% during the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 7,444,062 shares of the company's stock valued at $226,523,000 after purchasing an additional 7,278,295 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.17% of the company's stock.

Kraft Heinz Stock Down 1.3%

KHC stock traded down $0.37 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $27.65. The stock had a trading volume of 15,032,417 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,504,757. 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 Company has a 1-year low of $25.44 and a 1-year high of $36.53. The company has a fifty day moving average of $26.98 and a 200 day moving average of $28.43. 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 quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $6.35 billion for 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%. The firm'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 posted $0.78 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Kraft Heinz Company will post 2.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kraft Heinz Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on KHC shares. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Kraft Heinz from $31.00 to $30.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Kraft Heinz from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their target price for the company from $25.00 to $27.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Kraft Heinz from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Cfra Research downgraded Kraft Heinz from a "moderate buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Mizuho set a $29.00 price objective on Kraft Heinz and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eighteen have issued a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Kraft Heinz currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $30.22.

Insider Activity at Kraft Heinz

In other news, Director Elio Leoni Sceti sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.91, for a total transaction of $697,750.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 40,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,116,400. This represents a 38.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.35% of the company's stock.

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.