Kraft Heinz Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NASDAQ:KHC)

Key Points

• Traders purchased an unusually large number of call options on KHC — 53,819 calls on Thursday, an 87% increase versus the typical volume of 28,777, indicating elevated bullish options activity.
• Insider selling picked up: CEO Miguel Patricio sold 125,000 shares at about $24.82 (~$3.10M), and insiders have sold 139,036 shares in the past 90 days, leaving insiders with just 0.35% ownership.
• Kraft Heinz declared a quarterly dividend of $0.40 (annualized $1.60, ~6.6% yield; ex-dividend Mar 6), while reporting a slight EPS beat of $0.67 vs. $0.61 but mixed fundamentals and analyst sentiment (average rating "Reduce" and $24.89 target).

Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC - Get Free Report) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Thursday. Traders purchased 53,819 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 87% compared to the typical volume of 28,777 call options.

Insider Transactions at Kraft Heinz

In other Kraft Heinz news, insider Miguel Patricio sold 125,000 shares of Kraft Heinz stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.82, for a total value of $3,102,500.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 686,817 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $17,046,797.94. The trade was a 15.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Cory Onell sold 4,991 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.34, for a total value of $121,480.94. Following the transaction, the insider owned 197,463 shares in the company, valued at $4,806,249.42. The trade was a 2.47% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 139,036 shares of company stock valued at $3,446,578. 0.35% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kraft Heinz

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Jessup Wealth Management Inc purchased a new position in shares of Kraft Heinz during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Reflection Asset Management acquired a new position in Kraft Heinz in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. DV Equities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kraft Heinz during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Key Capital Management INC purchased a new position in shares of Kraft Heinz during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Finally, New England Capital Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Kraft Heinz by 70.2% during the fourth quarter. New England Capital Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,239 shares of the company's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 511 shares during the last quarter. 78.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kraft Heinz Price Performance

Shares of KHC traded up $0.31 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $24.35. 7,274,019 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 16,286,612. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. Kraft Heinz has a 52-week low of $21.99 and a 52-week high of $33.35. The company has a market cap of $28.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.93 and a beta of 0.06. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $24.00 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $25.02.

Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.06. Kraft Heinz had a positive return on equity of 7.07% and a negative net margin of 23.44%.The firm had revenue of $6.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.38 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.84 EPS. Kraft Heinz's quarterly revenue was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. Kraft Heinz has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.980-2.100 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Kraft Heinz 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, March 27th. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. Kraft Heinz's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -32.39%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on KHC. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on shares of Kraft Heinz from $26.00 to $23.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Kraft Heinz from a "neutral" rating to an "underweight" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $24.00 to $22.00 in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Kraft Heinz from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $23.00 price target on shares of Kraft Heinz in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Zacks Research cut Kraft Heinz from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and six have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kraft Heinz presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $24.89.

Kraft Heinz Company Profile

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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