Banque Cantonale Vaudoise Raises Stock Position in The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC)

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise grew its holdings in The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) by 52.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 170,511 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 58,665 shares during the period. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise’s holdings in Kraft Heinz were worth $5,988,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. purchased a new stake in Kraft Heinz during the 1st quarter worth $27,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Kraft Heinz by 249.5% in the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 741 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 529 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kraft Heinz in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. boosted its stake in Kraft Heinz by 1,077.0% during the 3rd quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 871 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 797 shares during the period. Finally, Bangor Savings Bank acquired a new position in Kraft Heinz during the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.17% of the company’s stock.

Kraft Heinz Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of KHC stock opened at $31.07 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $34.43 and a 200-day moving average of $34.38. 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 52-week low of $30.40 and a 52-week high of $38.96. The stock has a market cap of $37.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.99, a P/E/G ratio of 3.56 and a beta of 0.49.

Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC) last issued 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 analyst estimates of $6.42 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.72 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that The Kraft Heinz Company will post 3.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kraft Heinz Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.15%. Kraft Heinz’s payout ratio is presently 144.14%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KHC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of Kraft Heinz from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $39.00 to $35.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of Kraft Heinz from $42.00 to $38.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $35.00 target price (down from $40.00) on shares of Kraft Heinz in a research report on Tuesday. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded shares of Kraft Heinz from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $40.00 to $38.00 in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Kraft Heinz from $38.00 to $37.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $36.55.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kraft Heinz

In related news, EVP Pedro F. P. Navio sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 in the company, valued at $5,626,122.75. This trade represents a 21.11 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

About Kraft Heinz

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.