Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC) Now Covered by Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC) in a research note issued to investors on Monday morning, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage issued an underweight rating and a $29.00 target price on the stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently commented on KHC. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on Kraft Heinz from $32.00 to $28.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Evercore ISI reiterated an “in-line” rating and issued a $35.00 price target (down from $38.00) on shares of Kraft Heinz in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Kraft Heinz from $31.00 to $30.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Mizuho cut shares of Kraft Heinz from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $38.00 to $31.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Bank of America lowered shares of Kraft Heinz from a “buy” rating to an “underperform” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $36.00 to $30.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and thirteen have issued a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $30.73.

Kraft Heinz Stock Performance

Shares of Kraft Heinz stock opened at $29.12 on Monday. Kraft Heinz has a 1 year low of $27.25 and a 1 year high of $38.96. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $29.92 and its 200 day moving average is $31.85. The stock has a market cap of $34.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.89, a PEG ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 0.59.

Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC) last announced its quarterly 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 net margin of 10.62% and a return on equity of 7.58%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Kraft Heinz will post 2.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kraft Heinz Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.49%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Kraft Heinz’s dividend payout ratio is currently 70.80%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of KHC. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its stake in shares of Kraft Heinz by 23.0% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 52,628 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,848,000 after acquiring an additional 9,833 shares during the period. Pathstone Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Kraft Heinz by 34.4% in the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 96,151 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,376,000 after buying an additional 24,606 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Kraft Heinz by 232.8% during the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 54,514 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,914,000 after acquiring an additional 38,132 shares during the last quarter. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. purchased a new position in Kraft Heinz during the third quarter valued at $403,000. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC increased its holdings in Kraft Heinz by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 486,653 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,086,000 after acquiring an additional 25,444 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.17% of the company’s stock.

About Kraft Heinz

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.