KBC Group NV Sells 727,792 Shares of The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC)

KBC Group NV lessened its stake in shares of The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC - Free Report) by 59.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 499,971 shares of the company's stock after selling 727,792 shares during the period. KBC Group NV's holdings in Kraft Heinz were worth $17,554,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hourglass Capital LLC lifted its stake in Kraft Heinz by 2.3% during the third quarter. Hourglass Capital LLC now owns 152,550 shares of the company's stock worth $5,356,000 after purchasing an additional 3,450 shares in the last quarter. ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd grew its stake in shares of Kraft Heinz by 18.3% in the 3rd quarter. ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd now owns 15,783 shares of the company's stock valued at $554,000 after purchasing an additional 2,444 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Kraft Heinz by 9.6% during the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 204,200 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,169,000 after acquiring an additional 17,969 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc increased its position in Kraft Heinz by 4.2% during the third quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc now owns 9,560 shares of the company's stock worth $336,000 after purchasing an additional 381 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MQS Management LLC acquired a new position in Kraft Heinz in the third quarter worth $420,000. 78.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kraft Heinz Stock Performance

Shares of Kraft Heinz stock traded down $0.65 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $31.14. 17,403,523 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,865,633. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $34.53 and a 200-day simple moving average of $34.46. 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 capitalization of $37.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.05, a PEG ratio of 3.67 and a beta of 0.49. The Kraft Heinz Company has a 12-month low of $30.40 and a 12-month high of $38.96.

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

Kraft Heinz Announces Dividend

The business 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 dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.14%. Kraft Heinz's payout ratio is 144.14%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Pedro F. P. Navio sold 45,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 168,195 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,626,122.75. This trade represents a 21.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.32% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Kraft Heinz from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Barclays cut their price objective on Kraft Heinz from $36.00 to $35.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on shares of Kraft Heinz from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Mizuho lowered their price target on Kraft Heinz from $43.00 to $41.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of Kraft Heinz from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $39.00 to $35.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $37.00.

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.