Vanguard Group Inc. Buys 616,283 Shares of Kraft Heinz Company $KHC

Key Points

• Vanguard Group increased its stake in Kraft Heinz by 0.6%, acquiring 616,283 shares in Q4 and now owns 102,933,219 shares (8.70%) valued at roughly $2.50 billion.
• Kraft Heinz pays a $0.40 quarterly dividend (annualized $1.60) giving a yield of about 7.1%, with the most recent payment on March 27 and an ex-dividend date of March 6.
• Analyst consensus is a "Reduce" rating with a $23.47 price target, as the company reported a slight EPS beat but declining revenue and a negative net margin.

Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC - Free Report) by 0.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 102,933,219 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 616,283 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 8.70% of Kraft Heinz worth $2,496,131,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its position in Kraft Heinz by 15.5% during the 3rd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 3,219 shares of the company's stock worth $84,000 after buying an additional 431 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC lifted its position in Kraft Heinz by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 14,892 shares of the company's stock worth $361,000 after buying an additional 458 shares in the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in Kraft Heinz by 13.4% during the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 3,894 shares of the company's stock worth $101,000 after buying an additional 460 shares in the last quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Kraft Heinz by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 29,623 shares of the company's stock worth $718,000 after buying an additional 490 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barrett & Company Inc. lifted its position in Kraft Heinz by 22.7% during the 3rd quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 2,700 shares of the company's stock worth $70,000 after buying an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. 78.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Cory Onell sold 9,045 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.61, for a total value of $222,597.45. Following the transaction, the insider owned 202,454 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,982,392.94. This represents a 4.28% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on KHC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Kraft Heinz from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. Morgan Stanley set a $22.00 price target on shares of Kraft Heinz in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d)" rating on shares of Kraft Heinz in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Evercore lowered their price objective on shares of Kraft Heinz from $25.00 to $22.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Kraft Heinz from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $23.47.

Kraft Heinz Stock Down 0.2%

Kraft Heinz stock opened at $22.42 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.58 billion, a PE ratio of -4.54 and a beta of 0.07. The company's 50-day moving average is $22.90 and its 200-day moving average is $23.89. Kraft Heinz Company has a fifty-two week low of $21.03 and a fifty-two week high of $29.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 0.79.

Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $6.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.38 billion. Kraft Heinz had a negative net margin of 23.44% and a positive return on equity of 7.07%. Kraft Heinz's revenue for the quarter was down 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.84 EPS. Kraft Heinz has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.980-2.100 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Kraft Heinz Company will post 2.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Kraft Heinz Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 27th. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th were paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 6th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.1%. Kraft Heinz's dividend payout ratio is -32.39%.

About Kraft Heinz

The Kraft Heinz Company NASDAQ: KHC is a global food and beverage company formed in 2015 through the merger of Kraft Foods Group and H.J. Heinz Company. The combination created one of the largest packaged-food companies in the world, built around well-known consumer brands. The merger was supported by major investors and established a multi-national platform for branded food products.

Kraft Heinz develops, manufactures, markets and distributes a broad portfolio of branded packaged foods and condiments.

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