The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) Shares Sold by Beech Hill Advisors Inc.

Beech Hill Advisors Inc. lessened its holdings in The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) by 62.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 28,098 shares of the company’s stock after selling 46,300 shares during the quarter. Beech Hill Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Kraft Heinz were worth $863,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Kraft Heinz by 11.5% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,307,598 shares of the company’s stock worth $186,350,000 after purchasing an additional 545,504 shares during the last quarter. Clifford Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Kraft Heinz by 21.4% in the 2nd quarter. Clifford Capital Partners LLC now owns 454,884 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,656,000 after acquiring an additional 80,101 shares during the period. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise raised its stake in Kraft Heinz by 52.5% in the 3rd quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 170,511 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,988,000 after acquiring an additional 58,665 shares during the last quarter. Easterly Investment Partners LLC grew its stake in Kraft Heinz by 39.4% during the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Brookstone Capital Management increased its holdings in shares of Kraft Heinz by 229.8% in the fourth quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 342,880 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,530,000 after purchasing an additional 238,913 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.17% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Pedro F. P. Navio sold 45,000 shares of Kraft Heinz stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 168,195 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,626,122.75. This trade 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. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on KHC. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on Kraft Heinz from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Stifel Nicolaus lowered shares of Kraft Heinz from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $40.00 to $38.00 in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of Kraft Heinz from $43.00 to $41.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Kraft Heinz from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $39.00 to $35.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $35.00 price objective (down previously from $40.00) on shares of Kraft Heinz in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $35.58.

Kraft Heinz Price Performance

Kraft Heinz stock traded down $0.03 during trading on Thursday, reaching $28.70. The company had a trading volume of 560,192 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,037,594. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.70 billion, a PE ratio of 25.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.48. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $31.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $33.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 1.06. The Kraft Heinz Company has a 1-year low of $28.37 and a 1-year high of $38.96.

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

Kraft Heinz Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. Kraft Heinz’s dividend payout ratio is currently 144.14%.

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.