Hancock Whitney Corp Sells 5,526 Shares of The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC)

Hancock Whitney Corp decreased its stake in shares of The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) by 41.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,903 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,526 shares during the period. Hancock Whitney Corp’s holdings in Kraft Heinz were worth $243,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sawyer & Company Inc bought a new stake in shares of Kraft Heinz during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Generali Investments Management Co LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kraft Heinz during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. bought a new stake in shares of Kraft Heinz during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Kraft Heinz during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Kraft Heinz during the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Institutional investors own 78.17% of the company’s stock.

Kraft Heinz Stock Performance

NASDAQ KHC opened at $29.49 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $30.07 and a 200-day moving average of $30.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 1.06. The stock has a market cap of $35.19 billion, a PE ratio of 13.05, a P/E/G ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.44. The Kraft Heinz Company has a 52-week low of $27.25 and a 52-week high of $38.72.

Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.06. Kraft Heinz had a net margin of 10.62% and a return on equity of 7.58%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Kraft Heinz Company will post 2.68 EPS for the current year.

Kraft Heinz Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. Kraft Heinz’s dividend payout ratio is presently 70.80%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on KHC shares. Evercore ISI reissued an “in-line” rating and set a $35.00 price objective (down previously from $38.00) on shares of Kraft Heinz in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Kraft Heinz from $32.00 to $31.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com raised shares of Kraft Heinz from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Mizuho downgraded shares of Kraft Heinz from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $38.00 to $31.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Kraft Heinz from $31.00 to $30.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fourteen have given a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $30.69.

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.