BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. Sells 249,492 Shares of The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC)

BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. decreased its stake in The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) by 53.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 216,650 shares of the company’s stock after selling 249,492 shares during the period. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A.’s holdings in Kraft Heinz were worth $7,607,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KHC. MADDEN SECURITIES Corp grew its holdings in shares of Kraft Heinz by 2.4% during the third quarter. MADDEN SECURITIES Corp now owns 12,756 shares of the company’s stock worth $448,000 after purchasing an additional 303 shares during the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Kraft Heinz by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,013 shares of the company’s stock valued at $419,000 after acquiring an additional 314 shares during the period. Axiom Advisory LLC raised its stake in shares of Kraft Heinz by 5.2% during the third quarter. Axiom Advisory LLC now owns 6,594 shares of the company’s stock valued at $227,000 after acquiring an additional 327 shares during the last quarter. Norden Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Kraft Heinz by 3.8% during the second quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 9,321 shares of the company’s stock valued at $300,000 after acquiring an additional 339 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Valley Wealth Managers Inc. grew its stake in shares of Kraft Heinz by 46.4% in the second quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 1,073 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 340 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.17% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Kraft Heinz news, EVP Pedro F. P. Navio sold 45,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.45, for a total transaction of $1,505,250.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 168,195 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,626,122.75. This trade represents a 21.11 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on KHC shares. 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 report on Thursday, October 31st. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on Kraft Heinz from $42.00 to $38.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Kraft Heinz from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Kraft Heinz from $38.00 to $37.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Kraft Heinz from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $36.55.

Kraft Heinz Stock Performance

Shares of Kraft Heinz stock opened at $31.81 on Monday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $34.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $34.24. The Kraft Heinz Company has a one year low of $30.40 and a one year high of $38.96. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $38.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.66, a PEG ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 0.49.

Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.01. Kraft Heinz had a return on equity of 7.46% and a net margin of 5.24%. The company had revenue of $6.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.42 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.72 earnings per share. Kraft Heinz’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that The Kraft Heinz Company will post 3.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kraft Heinz Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.03%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. Kraft Heinz’s payout ratio is presently 144.14%.

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.