Retirement Systems of Alabama Increases Stake in The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC)

Retirement Systems of Alabama raised its holdings in The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC - Free Report) by 9.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 190,799 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 16,690 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama's holdings in Kraft Heinz were worth $6,699,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. MADDEN SECURITIES Corp increased its position in Kraft Heinz by 2.4% in the third quarter. MADDEN SECURITIES Corp now owns 12,756 shares of the company's stock worth $448,000 after buying an additional 303 shares during the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Kraft Heinz by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,013 shares of the company's stock valued at $419,000 after acquiring an additional 314 shares during the period. Axiom Advisory LLC raised its stake in Kraft Heinz by 5.2% in the 3rd 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. Norden Group LLC lifted its holdings in Kraft Heinz by 3.8% during the second quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 9,321 shares of the company's stock valued at $300,000 after purchasing an additional 339 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Valley Wealth Managers Inc. boosted its position in Kraft Heinz by 46.4% during the second quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 1,073 shares of the company's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 340 shares during the period. 78.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kraft Heinz Price Performance

Shares of KHC traded down $0.95 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $30.30. 19,027,541 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,205,064. 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 firm's 50 day simple moving average is $32.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $33.71. The stock has a market cap of $36.64 billion, a PE ratio of 27.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 0.48. The Kraft Heinz Company has a 12 month low of $30.09 and a 12 month high of $38.96.

Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC - Get Free Report) last announced its 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 business had revenue of $6.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.42 billion. Kraft Heinz had a net margin of 5.24% and a return on equity of 7.46%. Kraft Heinz's revenue for the quarter was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.72 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that The Kraft Heinz Company will post 3.01 EPS 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 given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.28%. Kraft Heinz's payout ratio is 144.14%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Pedro F. P. Navio sold 45,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 168,195 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,626,122.75. This represents a 21.11 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.32% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on KHC. Mizuho dropped their price target on shares of Kraft Heinz from $43.00 to $41.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded Kraft Heinz from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $40.00 to $38.00 in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $35.00 price target (down from $40.00) on shares of Kraft Heinz in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on Kraft Heinz from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Kraft Heinz from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their target price for the stock from $39.00 to $35.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $36.55.

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.