American Century Companies Inc. Trims Stake in Kraft Heinz Company $KHC

American Century Companies Inc. trimmed its stake in Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) by 80.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 182,391 shares of the company’s stock after selling 748,502 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc.’s holdings in Kraft Heinz were worth $4,709,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Mid American Wealth Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Kraft Heinz in the second quarter valued at about $39,000. Banque Transatlantique SA acquired a new stake in Kraft Heinz in the 1st quarter worth about $40,000. Hilltop National Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Kraft Heinz in the second quarter valued at about $41,000. MV Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Kraft Heinz by 300.7% during the second quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,735 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 1,302 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pinney & Scofield Inc. boosted its holdings in Kraft Heinz by 48.2% in the 2nd quarter. Pinney & Scofield Inc. now owns 1,851 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 602 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.17% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on KHC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Kraft Heinz from $27.00 to $25.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Kraft Heinz from $27.00 to $25.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on Kraft Heinz from $28.00 to $24.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. DZ Bank raised Kraft Heinz from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 19th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane lowered their price objective on Kraft Heinz from $29.00 to $26.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kraft Heinz has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $26.58.

Kraft Heinz Price Performance

Shares of KHC opened at $24.34 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.73. Kraft Heinz Company has a 1-year low of $23.70 and a 1-year high of $33.35. The stock has a market cap of $28.81 billion, a PE ratio of -6.53 and a beta of 0.09. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $25.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $26.28.

Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 8th. The company reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Kraft Heinz had a positive return on equity of 7.26% and a negative net margin of 17.35%.The company had revenue of $6.39 billion for the quarter. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Kraft Heinz Company will post 2.68 EPS for the current year.

Kraft Heinz Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 28th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 28th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.6%. Kraft Heinz’s payout ratio is -42.90%.

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.