Levin Capital Strategies L.P. Lowers Holdings in The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC)

Levin Capital Strategies L.P. lowered its stake in The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) by 13.1% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 42,205 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,337 shares during the quarter. Levin Capital Strategies L.P.’s holdings in Kraft Heinz were worth $1,360,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. TCW Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Kraft Heinz in the fourth quarter valued at $1,098,000. Shell Asset Management Co. grew its position in Kraft Heinz by 251.3% in the 4th quarter. Shell Asset Management Co. now owns 33,829 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,251,000 after acquiring an additional 24,199 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its stake in Kraft Heinz by 120.8% during the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 137,353 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,079,000 after purchasing an additional 75,149 shares during the period. Bridgewater Associates LP boosted its stake in shares of Kraft Heinz by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 1,661,700 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,450,000 after purchasing an additional 118,260 shares during the period. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Kraft Heinz by 13.2% during the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 2,006,917 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,053,000 after buying an additional 234,783 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.17% of the company’s stock.

Kraft Heinz Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:KHC opened at $36.05 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.53. The stock has a market cap of $43.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.74, a P/E/G ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 0.49. The Kraft Heinz Company has a 1-year low of $30.68 and a 1-year high of $38.96. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $34.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $35.06.

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

Kraft Heinz Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 30th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 30th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.44%. Kraft Heinz’s dividend payout ratio is currently 69.87%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

KHC has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised 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 began coverage on Kraft Heinz in a research report on Monday, August 12th. They set a “sell” rating and a $34.00 price objective for the company. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of Kraft Heinz from $42.00 to $41.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on Kraft Heinz from $43.00 to $39.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Bank of America cut their price target on Kraft Heinz from $42.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $37.31.

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.