WBI Investments LLC Sells 20,469 Shares of The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC)

WBI Investments LLC lessened its stake in The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) by 23.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 66,391 shares of the company’s stock after selling 20,469 shares during the quarter. WBI Investments LLC’s holdings in Kraft Heinz were worth $2,039,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its stake in shares of Kraft Heinz by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 19,226 shares of the company’s stock valued at $590,000 after acquiring an additional 925 shares during the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Kraft Heinz during the 4th quarter worth approximately $840,000. Merit Financial Group LLC increased its position in Kraft Heinz by 46.4% in the 4th quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 12,573 shares of the company’s stock valued at $386,000 after acquiring an additional 3,986 shares during the period. Arkadios Wealth Advisors raised its stake in shares of Kraft Heinz by 20.8% during the fourth quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 26,123 shares of the company’s stock valued at $802,000 after acquiring an additional 4,499 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameritas Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Kraft Heinz by 8.3% in the fourth quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 26,465 shares of the company’s stock worth $813,000 after purchasing an additional 2,025 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.17% of the company’s stock.

Kraft Heinz Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:KHC opened at $27.74 on Monday. The Kraft Heinz Company has a twelve month low of $27.14 and a twelve month high of $36.53. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $29.22 and its 200-day moving average price is $30.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.83 billion, a PE ratio of 12.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $6 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.02 billion. Kraft Heinz had a net margin of 10.62% and a return on equity of 7.58%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.69 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that The Kraft Heinz Company will post 2.68 EPS for the current year.

Kraft Heinz Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Investors of record on Friday, May 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.77%. Kraft Heinz’s dividend payout ratio is presently 73.06%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on KHC shares. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Kraft Heinz from $31.00 to $30.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Kraft Heinz from $32.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Cfra Research lowered Kraft Heinz from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Kraft Heinz from $34.00 to $30.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lowered Kraft Heinz from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $34.00 to $31.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kraft Heinz has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $30.65.

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.