Epoch Investment Partners Inc. Trims Holdings in The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC)

Epoch Investment Partners Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) by 6.8% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 22,211 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,611 shares during the period. Epoch Investment Partners Inc.’s holdings in Kraft Heinz were worth $716,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of KHC. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Kraft Heinz by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 70,398,831 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,603,349,000 after acquiring an additional 183,234 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management grew its position in Kraft Heinz by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 9,107,688 shares of the company’s stock valued at $293,450,000 after purchasing an additional 189,000 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its stake in Kraft Heinz by 83.4% during the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 8,709,714 shares of the company’s stock valued at $321,388,000 after purchasing an additional 3,961,872 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Kraft Heinz by 47.3% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,536,214 shares of the company’s stock worth $178,379,000 after buying an additional 1,778,263 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cooke & Bieler LP lifted its stake in shares of Kraft Heinz by 4.7% in the second quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 3,402,510 shares of the company’s stock worth $109,629,000 after buying an additional 153,490 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.17% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Kraft Heinz news, insider Cory Onell sold 4,076 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.00, for a total transaction of $146,736.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 143,970 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,182,920. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

Kraft Heinz Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:KHC opened at $34.68 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.11 billion, a PE ratio of 15.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 0.49. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $34.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $35.04. The Kraft Heinz Company has a twelve month low of $30.68 and a twelve month high of $38.96.

Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $6.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.55 billion. Kraft Heinz had a net margin of 7.30% and a return on equity of 7.38%. The company’s revenue was down 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.79 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that The Kraft Heinz Company will post 3.02 EPS for the current year.

Kraft Heinz Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 30th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 30th. Kraft Heinz’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 69.87%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on KHC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Kraft Heinz from $38.00 to $37.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Bank of America decreased their price target on Kraft Heinz from $42.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on Kraft Heinz from $42.00 to $38.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on Kraft Heinz from $43.00 to $39.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Kraft Heinz from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $37.45.

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.