Ameritas Advisory Services LLC Buys 2,025 Shares of The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC)

Ameritas Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) by 8.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 26,465 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,025 shares during the period. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Kraft Heinz were worth $813,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Kraft Heinz by 12.7% during the 4th quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC now owns 40,141 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,233,000 after acquiring an additional 4,514 shares during the period. Arkadios Wealth Advisors boosted its position in Kraft Heinz by 20.8% during the fourth quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 26,123 shares of the company’s stock worth $802,000 after purchasing an additional 4,499 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Kraft Heinz by 46.4% in the fourth quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 12,573 shares of the company’s stock worth $386,000 after purchasing an additional 3,986 shares in the last quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp lifted its stake in shares of Kraft Heinz by 175.2% during the 4th quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp now owns 2,174 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,000 after buying an additional 1,384 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC bought a new position in Kraft Heinz in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,620,000. 78.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on Kraft Heinz from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Kraft Heinz from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $39.00 to $35.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $35.00 price target (down from $40.00) on shares of Kraft Heinz in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “in-line” rating and set a $35.00 price objective (down previously from $38.00) on shares of Kraft Heinz in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of Kraft Heinz from $43.00 to $41.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $35.23.

Kraft Heinz Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ KHC opened at $29.07 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.19, a PEG ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 0.56. The Kraft Heinz Company has a one year low of $28.37 and a one year high of $38.96. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $30.68 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $33.18.

Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC) last issued its earnings results 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 company had revenue of $6.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.42 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.72 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that The Kraft Heinz Company will post 3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kraft Heinz Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.50%. Kraft Heinz’s payout ratio is 144.14%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Pedro F. P. Navio sold 45,000 shares of Kraft Heinz stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 168,195 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,626,122.75. The trade was a 21.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 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.