Bell Bank Sells 35,801 Shares of The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC)

Bell Bank lessened its holdings in shares of The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC - Free Report) by 15.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 198,274 shares of the company's stock after selling 35,801 shares during the period. Bell Bank's holdings in Kraft Heinz were worth $6,961,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. LSV Asset Management lifted its position in Kraft Heinz by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 9,107,688 shares of the company's stock worth $293,450,000 after buying an additional 189,000 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its holdings in shares of Kraft Heinz by 9.7% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 9,064,592 shares of the company's stock valued at $292,061,000 after purchasing an additional 799,581 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its position in Kraft Heinz by 83.4% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 8,709,714 shares of the company's stock worth $321,388,000 after purchasing an additional 3,961,872 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Kraft Heinz by 47.3% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,536,214 shares of the company's stock worth $178,379,000 after buying an additional 1,778,263 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Kraft Heinz by 14.2% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 4,063,076 shares of the company's stock valued at $130,912,000 after buying an additional 505,180 shares during the last quarter. 78.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Pedro F. P. Navio sold 45,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 168,195 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,626,122.75. This represents a 21.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.32% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Kraft Heinz from $36.00 to $35.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Kraft Heinz from $38.00 to $37.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Kraft Heinz from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Citigroup reduced their target price on Kraft Heinz from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Mizuho lowered their price target on Kraft Heinz from $43.00 to $41.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $37.25.

Kraft Heinz Stock Performance

Shares of KHC traded down $0.34 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $31.79. The company's stock had a trading volume of 11,061,421 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,822,455. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The stock has a market cap of $38.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.95, a PEG ratio of 3.65 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 business has a 50-day simple moving average of $34.71 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $34.53.

Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $6.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.42 billion. Kraft Heinz had a net margin of 5.24% and a return on equity of 7.46%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.72 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that The Kraft Heinz Company will post 3.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kraft Heinz Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.03%. Kraft Heinz's dividend 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.