On March 20, 2023 at 13:54:44 ET an unusually large $25.71K block of Call contracts in Kraft Heinz (KHC) was sold, with a strike price of $39.50 / share, expiring in 32 days (on April 21, 2023). Fintel tracks all large options trades, and the premium spent on this trade was 1.19 sigmas above the mean, placing it in the 87.79 percentile of all recent large trades made in KHC options.

This trade was first picked up on Fintel’s real time Unusual Option Trades tool, where unusual option trades are highlighted.

Analyst Price Forecast Suggests 16.41% Upside

As of March 19, 2023, the average one-year price target for Kraft Heinz is $43.81. The forecasts range from a low of $35.35 to a high of $51.45. The average price target represents an increase of 16.41% from its latest reported closing price of $37.63.

See our leaderboard of companies with the largest price target upside.

The projected annual revenue for Kraft Heinz is $26,732MM, an increase of 0.93%. The projected annual non-GAAP EPS is $2.79.

What is the Fund Sentiment?

There are 1977 funds or institutions reporting positions in Kraft Heinz. This is an increase of 158 owner(s) or 8.69% in the last quarter. Average portfolio weight of all funds dedicated to KHC is 0.32%, an increase of 8.44%. Total shares owned by institutions increased in the last three months by 2.39% to 985,505K shares. The put/call ratio of KHC is 0.62, indicating a bullish outlook.

What are Large Shareholders Doing?

Berkshire Hathaway holds 325,635K shares representing 26.58% ownership of the company. No change in the last quarter.

Capital International Investors holds 25,352K shares representing 2.07% ownership of the company. In it’s prior filing, the firm reported owning 24,636K shares, representing an increase of 2.83%. The firm increased its portfolio allocation in KHC by 15.60% over the last quarter.

VTSMX – Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund Investor Shares holds 24,202K shares representing 1.98% ownership of the company. In it’s prior filing, the firm reported owning 23,763K shares, representing an increase of 1.82%. The firm increased its portfolio allocation in KHC by 14.81% over the last quarter.

Invesco holds 22,143K shares representing 1.81% ownership of the company. In it’s prior filing, the firm reported owning 21,424K shares, representing an increase of 3.24%. The firm decreased its portfolio allocation in KHC by 99.99% over the last quarter.

Price T Rowe Associates holds 19,527K shares representing 1.59% ownership of the company. In it’s prior filing, the firm reported owning 1,009K shares, representing an increase of 94.83%. The firm increased its portfolio allocation in KHC by 2,219.83% over the last quarter.

Kraft Heinz Declares $0.40 Dividend

On February 15, 2023 the company declared a regular quarterly dividend of $0.40 per share ($1.60 annualized). Shareholders of record as of March 10, 2023 will receive the payment on March 31, 2023. Previously, the company paid $0.40 per share.

At the current share price of $37.63 / share, the stock’s dividend yield is 4.25%. Looking back five years and taking a sample every week, the average dividend yield has been 4.67%, the lowest has been 3.59%, and the highest has been 7.70%. The standard deviation of yields is 0.67 (n=236).

The current dividend yield is 0.62 standard deviations below the historical average.

Additionally, the company’s dividend payout ratio is 0.83. The payout ratio tells us how much of a company’s income is paid out in dividends. A payout ratio of one (1.0) means 100% of the company’s income is paid in a dividend. A payout ratio greater than one means the company is dipping into savings in order to maintain its dividend – not a healthy situation. Companies with few growth prospects are expected to pay out most of their income in dividends, which typically means a payout ratio between 0.5 and 1.0. Companies with good growth prospects are expected to retain some earnings in order to invest in those growth prospects, which translates to a payout ratio of zero to 0.5.

The company has not increased its dividend in the last three years.

Kraft Heinz Background Information
(This description is provided by the company.)

The Kraft Heinz Company is driving transformation, inspired by its Purpose, Let’s Make Life Delicious. Consumers are at the center of everything the company does. With 2020 net sales of approximately $26 billion, Kraft Heinz is committed to growing its iconic and emerging food and beverage brands on a global scale. The company leverages its scale and agility to unleash the full power of Kraft Heinz across a portfolio of six consumer-driven product platforms. As global citizens, the company is dedicated to making a sustainable, ethical impact while helping feed the world in healthy, responsible ways.

This article originally appeared on Fintel

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