The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) Shares Sold by AIA Group Ltd

AIA Group Ltd decreased its holdings in The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) by 17.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 138,761 shares of the company’s stock after selling 29,518 shares during the period. AIA Group Ltd’s holdings in Kraft Heinz were worth $4,872,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Smith Thornton Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Kraft Heinz by 2.1% during the third quarter. Smith Thornton Advisors LLC now owns 20,718 shares of the company’s stock worth $727,000 after buying an additional 435 shares during the period. Sittner & Nelson LLC purchased a new position in Kraft Heinz in the third quarter worth approximately $105,000. Keynote Financial Services LLC grew its holdings in Kraft Heinz by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Keynote Financial Services LLC now owns 25,965 shares of the company’s stock worth $912,000 after acquiring an additional 512 shares in the last quarter. Hara Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kraft Heinz in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Kraft Heinz by 14.4% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,097,084 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,519,000 after purchasing an additional 138,101 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.17% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on Kraft Heinz from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Evercore ISI cut their target price on Kraft Heinz from $42.00 to $38.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Kraft Heinz from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $39.00 to $35.00 in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Kraft Heinz from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Kraft Heinz from $36.00 to $35.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $37.25.

Insider Transactions at Kraft Heinz

In other news, EVP Pedro F. P. Navio sold 45,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.45, for a total value of $1,505,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 168,195 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,626,122.75. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Kraft Heinz Stock Down 1.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:KHC opened at $32.82 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 0.56. The stock has a market cap of $39.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.57, a P/E/G ratio of 3.81 and a beta of 0.49. The Kraft Heinz Company has a 1-year low of $31.58 and a 1-year high of $38.96. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $35.01 and a 200 day moving average price of $34.74.

Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $6.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.42 billion. Kraft Heinz had a return on equity of 7.46% and a net margin of 5.24%. The business’s revenue was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.72 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that The Kraft Heinz Company will post 3.01 EPS for the current year.

Kraft Heinz Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.88%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. Kraft Heinz’s payout ratio is currently 144.14%.

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.