The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) Position Trimmed by Blue Trust Inc.

Blue Trust Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) by 57.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,981 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,414 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Kraft Heinz were worth $122,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AMF Tjanstepension AB grew its position in shares of Kraft Heinz by 143.4% during the 3rd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 245,522 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,620,000 after buying an additional 144,646 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Kraft Heinz by 10.7% during the third quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 25,212 shares of the company’s stock valued at $885,000 after purchasing an additional 2,446 shares during the last quarter. Eastern Bank bought a new position in Kraft Heinz during the 3rd quarter worth $41,000. Hartford Investment Management Co. grew its stake in Kraft Heinz by 9.8% during the 3rd quarter. Hartford Investment Management Co. now owns 55,335 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,943,000 after buying an additional 4,941 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Kraft Heinz by 4,806.3% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 616,134 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,632,000 after buying an additional 603,576 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.17% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on KHC. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Kraft Heinz from $37.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Kraft Heinz from $33.00 to $29.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Kraft Heinz from $31.00 to $30.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on shares of Kraft Heinz from $32.00 to $28.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Kraft Heinz from $32.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $30.86.

Kraft Heinz Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ KHC opened at $31.13 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $29.73 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $32.56. The Kraft Heinz Company has a 1 year low of $27.25 and a 1 year high of $38.96. The firm has a market cap of $37.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.77, a PEG ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 1.06.

Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.06. Kraft Heinz had a return on equity of 7.58% and a net margin of 10.62%. Research analysts forecast that The Kraft Heinz Company will post 2.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kraft Heinz Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. Kraft Heinz’s payout ratio is 70.80%.

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.