Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Buys 16,658 Shares of The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its stake in The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) by 11.3% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 163,903 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 16,658 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Kraft Heinz were worth $5,281,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. NBT Bank N A NY lifted its holdings in Kraft Heinz by 2.2% during the first quarter. NBT Bank N A NY now owns 12,785 shares of the company’s stock valued at $472,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares during the last quarter. Welch Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Kraft Heinz by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. Welch Group LLC now owns 14,868 shares of the company’s stock valued at $549,000 after buying an additional 272 shares in the last quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV boosted its holdings in Kraft Heinz by 13.2% in the 1st quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 2,423 shares of the company’s stock worth $89,000 after buying an additional 282 shares during the period. Integrated Advisors Network LLC grew its stake in Kraft Heinz by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 12,881 shares of the company’s stock valued at $476,000 after buying an additional 301 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HB Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Kraft Heinz by 2.5% during 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. 78.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on KHC shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on Kraft Heinz from $43.00 to $39.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Kraft Heinz from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Kraft Heinz in a research report on Monday, August 12th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $34.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays upped their target price on Kraft Heinz from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Kraft Heinz from $38.00 to $37.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $37.31.

Kraft Heinz Trading Down 1.0 %

KHC stock opened at $35.16 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $42.51 billion, a PE ratio of 15.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 1.01. The Kraft Heinz Company has a one year low of $30.68 and a one year high of $38.96. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $34.36 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $35.05.

Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.05. Kraft Heinz had a net margin of 7.30% and a return on equity of 7.38%. The company had revenue of $6.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.55 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.79 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that The Kraft Heinz Company will post 3.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kraft Heinz Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Investors of record on Friday, August 30th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 30th. Kraft Heinz’s payout ratio is 69.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kraft Heinz

In other Kraft Heinz news, insider Cory Onell sold 4,076 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.00, for a total value of $146,736.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 143,970 shares in the company, valued at $5,182,920. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.