First Horizon Advisors Inc. Increases Stock Position in The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC)

First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC - Free Report) by 8.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 464,351 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 36,877 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Kraft Heinz were worth $16,303,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Clifford Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in Kraft Heinz by 21.4% during the 2nd quarter. Clifford Capital Partners LLC now owns 454,884 shares of the company's stock worth $14,656,000 after acquiring an additional 80,101 shares in the last quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise boosted its stake 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 stake in shares of Kraft Heinz by 39.4% during the third quarter. Easterly Investment Partners LLC now owns 157,479 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,529,000 after purchasing an additional 44,485 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Kraft Heinz by 13.2% during the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 2,006,917 shares of the company's stock worth $74,053,000 after purchasing an additional 234,783 shares during the period. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Kraft Heinz by 1,760.8% during the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 655,312 shares of the company's stock valued at $23,008,000 after purchasing an additional 620,096 shares in the last quarter. 78.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kraft Heinz Stock Performance

NASDAQ KHC traded up $0.30 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $30.88. 11,867,963 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,927,244. 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 Kraft Heinz Company has a fifty-two week low of $30.40 and a fifty-two week high of $38.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.55, a PEG ratio of 3.56 and a beta of 0.49. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $34.33 and a 200-day moving average price of $34.34.

Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC - Get Free Report) last released 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. The firm had revenue of $6.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.72 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that The Kraft Heinz Company will post 3.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kraft Heinz Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.18%. Kraft Heinz's dividend payout ratio is 144.14%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on KHC shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Kraft Heinz from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $39.00 to $35.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of Kraft Heinz from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Kraft Heinz from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Evercore ISI cut their price target on Kraft Heinz from $42.00 to $38.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut shares of Kraft Heinz from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their target price for the company from $40.00 to $38.00 in a research note on Friday, October 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Kraft Heinz 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 the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.37% of the company's stock.

Kraft Heinz Company 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.