Costello Asset Management INC Purchases 2,800 Shares of The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC)

Costello Asset Management INC increased its position in shares of The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) by 7.6% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 39,869 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,800 shares during the period. Costello Asset Management INC’s holdings in Kraft Heinz were worth $1,224,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Kraft Heinz by 16.7% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 44,400,402 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,558,898,000 after acquiring an additional 6,366,732 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Kraft Heinz by 11.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,150,328 shares of the company’s stock worth $669,821,000 after purchasing an additional 1,944,019 shares in the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Kraft Heinz during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $411,304,000. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in Kraft Heinz by 16.3% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 8,813,268 shares of the company’s stock worth $269,906,000 after purchasing an additional 1,238,200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Kraft Heinz by 11.5% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,307,598 shares of the company’s stock worth $186,350,000 after purchasing an additional 545,504 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.17% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Pedro F. P. Navio sold 45,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.45, for a total transaction of $1,505,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 168,195 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,626,122.75. The trade was a 21.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KHC has been the topic of several research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of Kraft Heinz from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of Kraft Heinz from $34.00 to $30.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Evercore ISI restated an “in-line” rating and set a $35.00 price objective (down previously from $38.00) on shares of Kraft Heinz in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. UBS Group decreased their target price on Kraft Heinz from $37.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Mizuho reduced their price objective on Kraft Heinz from $43.00 to $41.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Kraft Heinz has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $34.07.

Kraft Heinz Stock Down 1.4 %

NASDAQ KHC opened at $29.84 on Friday. The Kraft Heinz Company has a 52 week low of $28.37 and a 52 week high of $38.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.88, a PEG ratio of 3.80 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The company has a fifty day moving average of $30.41 and a two-hundred day moving average of $33.03.

Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $6.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.42 billion. Kraft Heinz had a net margin of 5.24% and a return on equity of 7.46%. The firm’s revenue was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.72 EPS. On average, analysts predict that The Kraft Heinz Company will post 3 earnings per share for the current year.

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.