Traders Buy Large Volume of Call Options on Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC)

Key Points

• 53,742 call options were purchased on Wednesday—about a 69% jump above average volume—indicating unusually high bullish options activity in Kraft Heinz (KHC).
• Kraft Heinz reported quarterly EPS of $0.67 (vs. $0.61 expected) while revenue dipped to $6.35 billion (slightly below estimates) and set FY2026 guidance of 1.980–2.100 EPS.
• The company paid a $0.40 quarterly dividend (annualized $1.60) for a 7.2% yield, even as analysts have trimmed targets and the consensus rating sits at "Reduce" with a $23.53 average target price.

Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC - Get Free Report) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Stock traders acquired 53,742 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 69% compared to the average volume of 31,708 call options.

Kraft Heinz Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of Kraft Heinz stock traded down $0.02 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $22.09. The stock had a trading volume of 4,180,979 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,316,187. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $23.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $24.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.48 and a beta of 0.07. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. Kraft Heinz has a 1 year low of $21.03 and a 1 year high of $30.42.

Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $6.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.38 billion. Kraft Heinz had a positive return on equity of 7.07% and a negative net margin of 23.44%.The company's quarterly revenue was down 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.84 EPS. Kraft Heinz has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.980-2.100 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Kraft Heinz will post 2.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Kraft Heinz Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th were issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.2%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 6th. Kraft Heinz's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -32.39%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on KHC shares. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on Kraft Heinz from $23.00 to $20.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 30th. BNP Paribas Exane reduced their target price on Kraft Heinz from $19.00 to $18.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. TD Cowen reduced their target price on Kraft Heinz from $24.00 to $20.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on Kraft Heinz from $23.00 to $20.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an "underweight" rating and set a $23.00 target price on shares of Kraft Heinz in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $23.53.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Cory Onell sold 9,045 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.61, for a total transaction of $222,597.45. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 202,454 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,982,392.94. This represents a 4.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.35% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kraft Heinz

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Kraft Heinz by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 102,933,219 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,496,131,000 after buying an additional 616,283 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Kraft Heinz by 10.5% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 19,725,662 shares of the company's stock valued at $478,347,000 after buying an additional 1,870,310 shares in the last quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co grew its stake in shares of Kraft Heinz by 3,034.1% in the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 16,477,002 shares of the company's stock valued at $39,957,000 after buying an additional 15,951,271 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in shares of Kraft Heinz by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 13,801,453 shares of the company's stock valued at $336,134,000 after buying an additional 106,970 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Kraft Heinz in the fourth quarter valued at about $332,382,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.17% of the company's stock.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.