Metis Global Partners LLC Lowers Stake in The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC)

Metis Global Partners LLC decreased its position in The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) by 2.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 36,434 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,078 shares during the quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in Kraft Heinz were worth $1,347,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KHC. Raymond James Trust N.A. increased its position in shares of Kraft Heinz by 11.0% during the fourth quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 39,610 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,465,000 after acquiring an additional 3,916 shares during the period. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Kraft Heinz in the 3rd quarter valued at about $5,399,000. Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Kraft Heinz by 6.6% in the 4th quarter. Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. now owns 13,857 shares of the company’s stock valued at $512,000 after buying an additional 864 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Kraft Heinz by 16.3% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,768,073 shares of the company’s stock worth $59,478,000 after buying an additional 247,896 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Kraft Heinz by 42.5% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 457,923 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,934,000 after buying an additional 136,556 shares during the period. 78.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on KHC. Citigroup initiated coverage on Kraft Heinz in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $43.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Kraft Heinz from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of Kraft Heinz from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Kraft Heinz from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $39.50.

Kraft Heinz Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ KHC opened at $35.89 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.65. The Kraft Heinz Company has a 52 week low of $30.68 and a 52 week high of $41.10. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $36.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $35.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40.

Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The company reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $6.41 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.43 billion. Kraft Heinz had a net margin of 10.62% and a return on equity of 7.41%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.68 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that The Kraft Heinz Company will post 3.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kraft Heinz Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 6th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 6th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.46%. Kraft Heinz’s dividend payout ratio is currently 69.87%.

Insider Activity at Kraft Heinz

In related news, insider Lande Rashida La sold 10,140 shares of Kraft Heinz stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.95, for a total transaction of $364,533.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 158,266 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,689,662.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.37% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.