Eliot Finkel Investment Counsel LLC Buys 19,995 Shares of Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC)

Eliot Finkel Investment Counsel LLC lifted its stake in Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) by 16.3% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 142,855 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 19,995 shares during the period. Kraft Heinz comprises about 3.0% of Eliot Finkel Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Eliot Finkel Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Kraft Heinz were worth $4,347,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in KHC. Rossby Financial LCC bought a new stake in shares of Kraft Heinz in the first quarter valued at about $29,000. Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new stake in Kraft Heinz in the first quarter valued at about $33,000. Investment Management Corp VA ADV increased its stake in Kraft Heinz by 141.7% in the first quarter. Investment Management Corp VA ADV now owns 1,141 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 669 shares during the period. Pinney & Scofield Inc. bought a new stake in Kraft Heinz in the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Abound Wealth Management increased its stake in Kraft Heinz by 1,157.0% in the first quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 1,257 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 1,157 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.17% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KHC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup reissued a “sell” rating and issued a $27.00 target price (down previously from $28.00) on shares of Kraft Heinz in a research note on Friday, April 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Kraft Heinz from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the company from $25.00 to $27.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Mizuho set a $29.00 target price on shares of Kraft Heinz and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Kraft Heinz from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Kraft Heinz from $31.00 to $30.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $30.35.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Kraft Heinz news, Director Elio Leoni Sceti sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.91, for a total transaction of $697,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 40,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,116,400. The trade was a 38.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Kraft Heinz Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:KHC opened at $27.41 on Friday. Kraft Heinz Company has a 12 month low of $25.44 and a 12 month high of $36.53. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $26.87 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $28.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The firm has a market cap of $32.44 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.10, a P/E/G ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.23.

Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.05. Kraft Heinz had a negative net margin of 20.83% and a positive return on equity of 7.40%. The firm had revenue of $6.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.26 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.78 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Kraft Heinz Company will post 2.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kraft Heinz Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.8%. Kraft Heinz’s dividend payout ratio is currently -35.63%.

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.