The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) Shares Purchased by Ellsworth Advisors LLC

Ellsworth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC - Free Report) by 6.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 148,617 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 8,683 shares during the period. Ellsworth Advisors LLC's holdings in Kraft Heinz were worth $4,564,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. MADDEN SECURITIES Corp boosted its position in shares of Kraft Heinz by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. MADDEN SECURITIES Corp now owns 12,756 shares of the company's stock valued at $448,000 after purchasing an additional 303 shares during the period. Axiom Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Kraft Heinz by 5.2% in the third quarter. Axiom Advisory LLC now owns 6,594 shares of the company's stock valued at $227,000 after acquiring an additional 327 shares during the period. Trust Co. of Vermont grew its position in shares of Kraft Heinz by 3.6% during the third quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 10,388 shares of the company's stock worth $365,000 after acquiring an additional 358 shares during the last quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Kraft Heinz by 20.1% in the 4th quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,274 shares of the company's stock valued at $70,000 after acquiring an additional 380 shares during the period. Finally, Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc raised its position in Kraft Heinz by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc now owns 9,560 shares of the company's stock valued at $336,000 after purchasing an additional 381 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.17% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Kraft Heinz

In other news, EVP Pedro F. P. Navio sold 45,000 shares of Kraft Heinz stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.45, for a total transaction of $1,505,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 168,195 shares in the company, valued at $5,626,122.75. The trade was a 21.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.37% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on KHC shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of Kraft Heinz from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $39.00 to $35.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an "in-line" rating and set a $35.00 price objective (down from $38.00) on shares of Kraft Heinz in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Citigroup dropped 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. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Kraft Heinz from $35.00 to $31.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus downgraded shares of Kraft Heinz from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $40.00 to $38.00 in a report on Friday, October 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Kraft Heinz presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $35.23.

Kraft Heinz Price Performance

KHC traded up $0.30 during trading on Monday, reaching $29.27. 7,978,023 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,205,660. The Kraft Heinz Company has a 1 year low of $28.37 and a 1 year high of $38.96. 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 business's 50 day moving average price is $30.80 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $33.22. The company has a market capitalization of $35.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.37, a P/E/G ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.48.

Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $6.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.42 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.72 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that The Kraft Heinz Company will post 3 earnings per share for the current year.

Kraft Heinz Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.47%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. Kraft Heinz's payout ratio is 144.14%.

Kraft Heinz Profile

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.