SG Americas Securities LLC Raises Holdings in The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC)

SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in shares of The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC - Free Report) by 511.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 42,706 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 35,725 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC's holdings in Kraft Heinz were worth $1,312,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of KHC. Sawyer & Company Inc purchased a new position in Kraft Heinz in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kraft Heinz by 249.5% in the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 741 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 529 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Kraft Heinz during the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. increased its stake in Kraft Heinz by 1,077.0% during the 3rd quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 871 shares of the company's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 797 shares during the period. Finally, Bangor Savings Bank acquired a new position in Kraft Heinz in the 3rd quarter worth $32,000. 78.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kraft Heinz Stock Performance

Kraft Heinz stock traded down $0.61 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $29.59. 8,271,629 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,253,102. The Kraft Heinz Company has a fifty-two week low of $28.37 and a fifty-two week high of $38.96. The stock has a market cap of $35.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.66, a P/E/G ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 0.48. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $30.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $33.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 0.56.

Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $6.38 billion for 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 business's revenue for the quarter was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.72 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that The Kraft Heinz Company will post 3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kraft Heinz Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. Kraft Heinz's payout ratio is currently 144.14%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Pedro F. P. Navio sold 45,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 168,195 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,626,122.75. This represents a 21.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.32% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on KHC. Evercore ISI restated an "in-line" rating and set a $35.00 price objective (down from $38.00) on shares of Kraft Heinz in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Kraft Heinz from $35.00 to $31.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Mizuho cut their price target on shares of Kraft Heinz from $43.00 to $41.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Citigroup cut their target price 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. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of Kraft Heinz from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $34.77.

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.