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

Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) saw some unusual options trading activity on Monday. Stock traders bought 64,080 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 113% compared to the average volume of 30,020 call options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on KHC. Barclays raised their target price on Kraft Heinz from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on Kraft Heinz from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Kraft Heinz in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Evercore cut their price objective on Kraft Heinz from $25.00 to $22.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Kraft Heinz from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and six have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $24.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Kraft Heinz news, insider Cory Onell sold 4,991 shares of Kraft Heinz stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.34, for a total value of $121,480.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 197,463 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,806,249.42. The trade was a 2.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kraft Heinz

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Auto Owners Insurance Co increased its stake in shares of Kraft Heinz by 3,034.1% in the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 16,477,002 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,957,000 after acquiring an additional 15,951,271 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Kraft Heinz during the 4th quarter valued at about $332,382,000. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in shares of Kraft Heinz by 75.1% in the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 13,694,483 shares of the company’s stock valued at $351,263,000 after purchasing an additional 5,873,967 shares during the period. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in shares of Kraft Heinz by 77.8% in the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 8,973,146 shares of the company’s stock valued at $217,599,000 after purchasing an additional 3,926,141 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its position in Kraft Heinz by 10.5% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 19,725,662 shares of the company’s stock worth $478,347,000 after purchasing an additional 1,870,310 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.17% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Kraft Heinz

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

• Positive Sentiment: Announced capex to “upgrade key plant systems” at the Mont Royal (Montreal) factory — a productivity/quality investment that can support cost, reliability and long-term margins. Kraft Heinz to “upgrade” Canada plant
• Positive Sentiment: Brand-refresh moves: a five-year global condiment partnership with the NFL plus the PowerMac higher‑protein Mac & Cheese roll-out — these marketing and product innovations could help arrest volume declines and improve relevance. Could Kraft Heinz’s NFL Push and Healthier Mac & Cheese Redefine Its Brand Narrative for KHC?
• Neutral Sentiment: Unusually large options activity — about 64,080 call contracts traded (≈113% above typical daily call volume). This could reflect speculative bullish positioning or hedging and may increase near-term volatility.
• Neutral Sentiment: Featured in a MarketBeat piece as a deep‑value, high‑yield (~7.5%) name that draws income-seeking investors and institutional buying—supportive for longer-term income-oriented demand. 5 High-Yield Stocks to Shield Your Portfolio From the Storm (KHC)
• Negative Sentiment: Piper Sandler cut its price target from $26 to $24 and set a Neutral rating — a downgrade that can weigh on sentiment and reduce upside expectations from sell‑side support. Piper Sandler lowers KHC price target
• Negative Sentiment: Fundamentals remain mixed: Q4 EPS beat ( $0.67 vs. $0.61 est.) but revenue fell ~3.4% y/y and Kraft Heinz set FY‑2026 EPS guidance at $1.98–$2.10, below some analyst expectations — these trends and weaker top‑line growth are pressuring the stock. Kraft Heinz (KHC) Stock Sinks As Market Gains: Here’s Why

Kraft Heinz Price Performance

Shares of Kraft Heinz stock opened at $21.21 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.11 billion, a P/E ratio of -4.29 and a beta of 0.06. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $23.74 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $24.58. Kraft Heinz has a 12 month low of $21.08 and a 12 month high of $31.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 0.79.

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

Kraft Heinz Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. Kraft Heinz’s payout ratio is currently -32.39%.

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.