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

Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Friday. Stock investors purchased 58,273 call options on the company. This is an increase of 99% compared to the average volume of 29,250 call options.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Miguel Patricio sold 125,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.82, for a total transaction of $3,102,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 686,817 shares in the company, valued at $17,046,797.94. This represents a 15.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.35% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kraft Heinz

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of KHC. Jessup Wealth Management Inc acquired a new stake in Kraft Heinz in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Key Capital Management INC bought a new stake in Kraft Heinz in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. New England Capital Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in Kraft Heinz by 70.2% during the fourth quarter. New England Capital Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,239 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 511 shares during the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its holdings in Kraft Heinz by 172.4% during the second quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 1,245 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 788 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cape Investment Advisory Inc. lifted its position in shares of Kraft Heinz by 164.7% in the second quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 1,297 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 807 shares during the last quarter. 78.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kraft Heinz News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Kraft Heinz this week:

• Positive Sentiment: KHC confirmed a quarterly cash dividend of $0.40 per share (annualized yield ~6.6%), which supports income-focused holders and can help stabilize the stock amid strategy uncertainty.
• Positive Sentiment: Some analysts offered relief notes: Sanford C. Bernstein raised its price target to $27 (market perform) and Barclays nudged its target to $25, giving investors offsetting, constructive signals. Bernstein Adjusts Price Target on Kraft Heinz to $27 Barclays Raises Price Target to $25
• Neutral Sentiment: Management committed roughly $600 million to a restoration plan and said it will pause the separation to focus on brand investment — a clear signal of capital allocation toward growth but with high execution risk. Kraft Heinz Pauses Split, Commits $600 Million to Revive Growth
• Neutral Sentiment: Kraft Heinz guided to higher 2026 capital spending (~$950M) to support factories/brands — supportive for long‑term repositioning but a near-term drag on free cash flow. Kraft Heinz forecasts about $950 million in 2026 capital spending
• Negative Sentiment: Q4 results showed a 3.5% sales decline, a roughly $9.3 billion impairment and ongoing margin pressure on core brands — items that reinforce structural concerns about volume erosion and pricing leverage. Kraft Heinz: The Catalyst Is Gone
• Negative Sentiment: Several major brokers cut ratings or targets (JPMorgan downgraded to underweight with $22 PT; Evercore, BNP Paribas and others trimmed targets), increasing downside risk and signaling limited near-term upside after the breakup pause. JPMorgan downgrades Kraft Heinz Deutsche Bank trims PT to $23
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst commentary and opinion pieces question whether the company has near-term catalysts after pausing the split; some sell-side and independent reports characterize the reset as high execution-risk, weighing on investor conviction. Catalyst Is Gone (Seeking Alpha)

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Kraft Heinz in a research note on Thursday. Barclays lifted their target price on Kraft Heinz from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Mizuho lowered their price objective on Kraft Heinz from $29.00 to $27.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Kraft Heinz from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their target price for the company from $24.00 to $22.00 in a research report on Thursday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $23.00 target price on Kraft Heinz in a research note on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Kraft Heinz has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $25.16.

Kraft Heinz Stock Performance

KHC traded up $0.48 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $24.80. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 13,406,614 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,228,836. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $24.00 and a 200 day simple moving average of $25.36. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.36 billion, a PE ratio of -5.02 and a beta of 0.08. Kraft Heinz has a fifty-two week low of $21.99 and a fifty-two week high of $33.35.

Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.06. Kraft Heinz had a negative net margin of 23.44% and a positive return on equity of 7.07%. The firm had revenue of $6.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.38 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.84 EPS. Kraft Heinz’s revenue was down 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Kraft Heinz has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.980-2.100 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Kraft Heinz will post 2.68 EPS for the current year.

Kraft Heinz Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.5%. Kraft Heinz’s dividend payout ratio is currently -42.90%.

Kraft Heinz Company Profile

The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ: KHC) is a global food and beverage company formed in 2015 through the merger of Kraft Foods Group and H.J. Heinz Company. The combination created one of the largest packaged-food companies in the world, built around well-known consumer brands. The merger was supported by major investors and established a multi-national platform for branded food products.

Kraft Heinz develops, manufactures, markets and distributes a broad portfolio of branded packaged foods and condiments.