Sapient Capital LLC Lowers Position in The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC)

Sapient Capital LLC decreased its holdings in shares of The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) by 6.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,177 shares of the company’s stock after selling 616 shares during the quarter. Sapient Capital LLC’s holdings in Kraft Heinz were worth $339,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Steward Partners Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Kraft Heinz in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in Kraft Heinz during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Kraft Heinz during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Kraft Heinz during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Headinvest LLC purchased a new position in Kraft Heinz during the 3rd quarter valued at $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.17% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on KHC shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on Kraft Heinz from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Kraft Heinz from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Bank of America upped their target price on Kraft Heinz from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Citigroup initiated coverage on Kraft Heinz in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $43.00 target price on the stock. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Kraft Heinz currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $40.57.

Kraft Heinz Price Performance

KHC stock traded down $0.04 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $38.61. 9,604,064 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,028,923. The company has a market cap of $46.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.67. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $36.34 and its 200 day moving average is $35.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The Kraft Heinz Company has a 12-month low of $30.68 and a 12-month high of $41.47.

Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The company reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $6.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.99 billion. Kraft Heinz had a return on equity of 7.42% and a net margin of 10.72%. Kraft Heinz’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.85 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that The Kraft Heinz Company will post 3.02 EPS for the current year.

Kraft Heinz Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th were given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.14%. Kraft Heinz’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.26%.

Kraft Heinz 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.