Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd Cuts Stock Position in The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC)

Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd lowered its stake in The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC - Free Report) by 71.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 133,619 shares of the company's stock after selling 330,117 shares during the quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd's holdings in Kraft Heinz were worth $4,691,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Clifford Capital Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Kraft Heinz by 21.4% in the 2nd quarter. Clifford Capital Partners LLC now owns 454,884 shares of the company's stock worth $14,656,000 after buying an additional 80,101 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Kraft Heinz by 11.5% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,307,598 shares of the company's stock worth $186,350,000 after acquiring an additional 545,504 shares during the period. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise increased its position in Kraft Heinz by 52.5% during the 3rd quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 170,511 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,988,000 after purchasing an additional 58,665 shares during the period. Easterly Investment Partners LLC raised its holdings in Kraft Heinz by 39.4% in the 3rd quarter. Easterly Investment Partners LLC now owns 157,479 shares of the company's stock worth $5,529,000 after purchasing an additional 44,485 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Kraft Heinz by 1,760.8% in the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 655,312 shares of the company's stock worth $23,008,000 after purchasing an additional 620,096 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.17% of the company's stock.

Kraft Heinz Stock Performance

KHC stock traded down $0.04 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $31.93. The stock had a trading volume of 6,703,126 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,011,506. The firm has a market cap of $38.61 billion, a PE ratio of 28.77, a PEG ratio of 3.66 and a beta of 0.49. 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's 50 day moving average is $33.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $34.17. The Kraft Heinz Company has a 52 week low of $30.40 and a 52 week high of $38.96.

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

Kraft Heinz Dividend Announcement

The company 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 dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. Kraft Heinz's dividend payout ratio is currently 144.14%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on KHC shares. Citigroup dropped their price target on Kraft Heinz from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Kraft Heinz from $38.00 to $37.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on shares of Kraft Heinz from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded shares of Kraft Heinz from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their target price for the company from $40.00 to $38.00 in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut Kraft Heinz from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $39.00 to $35.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $36.55.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Pedro F. P. Navio sold 45,000 shares of Kraft Heinz stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.45, for a total transaction of $1,505,250.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 168,195 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,626,122.75. This trade represents a 21.11 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.37% of the company's stock.

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.