Traders Buy High Volume of Kraft Heinz Call Options (NASDAQ:KHC)

The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) saw some unusual options trading activity on Monday. Stock investors purchased 26,780 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 45% compared to the typical daily volume of 18,452 call options.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Pedro F. P. Navio sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 168,195 shares in the company, valued at $5,626,122.75. This trade represents a 21.11 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kraft Heinz

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of KHC. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its stake in Kraft Heinz by 249.5% in the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 741 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 529 shares in the last quarter. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. acquired a new position in Kraft Heinz in the first quarter valued at about $27,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Kraft Heinz in the third quarter valued at about $27,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. raised its stake in Kraft Heinz by 1,077.0% in the third quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 871 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 797 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Asset Dedication LLC raised its stake in Kraft Heinz by 94.8% in the second quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 978 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 476 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.17% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on KHC shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Kraft Heinz from $38.00 to $37.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Kraft Heinz from $36.00 to $35.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price 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. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and set a $35.00 target price (down from $40.00) on shares of Kraft Heinz in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of Kraft Heinz from $42.00 to $38.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Kraft Heinz presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $36.55.

Kraft Heinz Trading Down 0.2 %

KHC stock opened at $31.97 on Wednesday. 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 company has a fifty day moving average price of $33.95 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $34.19. Kraft Heinz has a one year low of $30.40 and a one year high of $38.96. The stock has a market cap of $38.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.63 and a beta of 0.49.

Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $6.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.42 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.72 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Kraft Heinz will post 3.01 EPS for the current 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 $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.00%. 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.