The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) Shares Sold by Freedom Investment Management Inc.

Freedom Investment Management Inc. reduced its stake in The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) by 6.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,631 shares of the company’s stock after selling 514 shares during the period. Freedom Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Kraft Heinz were worth $268,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of KHC. LSV Asset Management boosted its holdings in Kraft Heinz by 2.1% in the second quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 9,107,688 shares of the company’s stock valued at $293,450,000 after purchasing an additional 189,000 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its stake in Kraft Heinz by 9.7% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 9,064,592 shares of the company’s stock worth $292,061,000 after acquiring an additional 799,581 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Kraft Heinz by 47.3% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,536,214 shares of the company’s stock valued at $178,379,000 after acquiring an additional 1,778,263 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Kraft Heinz by 11.5% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,307,598 shares of the company’s stock valued at $186,350,000 after acquiring an additional 545,504 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Kraft Heinz by 14.2% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 4,063,076 shares of the company’s stock worth $130,912,000 after purchasing an additional 505,180 shares during the last quarter. 78.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Pedro F. P. Navio sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.45, for a total value of $1,505,250.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 168,195 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,626,122.75. This represents a 21.11 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.32% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on KHC. Stifel Nicolaus cut Kraft Heinz from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $40.00 to $38.00 in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Kraft Heinz from $36.00 to $35.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of Kraft Heinz from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of Kraft Heinz from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $39.00 to $35.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Kraft Heinz from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $36.55.

Kraft Heinz Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ KHC opened at $31.97 on Monday. 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 one year low of $30.40 and a one year high of $38.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.80, a PEG ratio of 3.65 and a beta of 0.49. The company’s fifty day moving average is $33.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $34.10.

Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.42 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.72 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that The Kraft Heinz Company will post 3.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kraft Heinz Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.00%. Kraft Heinz’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.