Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) Shares Sold by Wesleyan Assurance Society

Wesleyan Assurance Society decreased its stake in shares of Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC - Free Report) by 32.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 74,621 shares of the company's stock after selling 35,721 shares during the quarter. Wesleyan Assurance Society's holdings in Kraft Heinz were worth $2,270,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. acquired a new position in shares of Kraft Heinz during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Rossby Financial LCC acquired a new position in shares of Kraft Heinz during the 1st quarter worth about $29,000. Wayfinding Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kraft Heinz during the 1st quarter worth about $33,000. Pinney & Scofield Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Kraft Heinz in the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Abound Wealth Management boosted its position in shares of Kraft Heinz by 1,157.0% in the 1st quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 1,257 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 1,157 shares during the period. 78.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kraft Heinz news, Director Elio Leoni Sceti sold 25,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 owned 40,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,116,400. This trade represents a 38.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.35% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup reissued a "sell" rating and issued a $27.00 target price (down from $28.00) on shares of Kraft Heinz in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut Kraft Heinz from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $34.00 to $31.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Cfra Research cut Kraft Heinz from a "moderate buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Kraft Heinz from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, 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. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have assigned a hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Kraft Heinz presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $30.29.

Kraft Heinz Stock Performance

Shares of KHC stock traded down $0.14 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $28.80. 5,425,869 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 12,446,989. Kraft Heinz Company has a 1 year low of $25.44 and a 1 year high of $36.53. The company has a market cap of $34.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.25. The company's 50 day moving average is $26.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $28.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 1.31 and a quick ratio of 0.81.

Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.62 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $6 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.02 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.69 EPS. Kraft Heinz's quarterly revenue was down 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Kraft Heinz Company will post 2.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kraft Heinz Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 27th. Investors of record on Friday, May 30th were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 30th. Kraft Heinz's payout ratio is currently 73.06%.

About Kraft Heinz

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.