MCF Advisors LLC Grows Stock Position in The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC)

MCF Advisors LLC increased its stake in The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) by 7.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,136 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,224 shares during the quarter. MCF Advisors LLC’s holdings in Kraft Heinz were worth $526,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Kraft Heinz by 16.7% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 44,400,402 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,558,898,000 after acquiring an additional 6,366,732 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Kraft Heinz by 11.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,150,328 shares of the company’s stock worth $669,821,000 after buying an additional 1,944,019 shares during the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Kraft Heinz in the third quarter valued at approximately $411,304,000. Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in Kraft Heinz by 9.7% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 9,064,592 shares of the company’s stock worth $292,061,000 after buying an additional 799,581 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in Kraft Heinz by 16.3% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 8,813,268 shares of the company’s stock worth $269,906,000 after purchasing an additional 1,238,200 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.17% of the company’s stock.

Kraft Heinz Stock Up 0.7 %

KHC stock opened at $29.48 on Wednesday. The Kraft Heinz Company has a 12 month low of $28.37 and a 12 month high of $38.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $35.65 billion, a PE ratio of 26.56, a P/E/G ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 0.48. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $30.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $33.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 0.56.

Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.01. Kraft Heinz had a return on equity of 7.46% and a net margin of 5.24%. The company had revenue of $6.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.42 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.72 EPS. Kraft Heinz’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that The Kraft Heinz Company will post 3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kraft Heinz Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. Kraft Heinz’s dividend payout ratio is presently 144.14%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on KHC. Barclays lowered their price target on Kraft Heinz from $36.00 to $35.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. UBS Group cut their target price on Kraft Heinz from $37.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Kraft Heinz from $35.00 to $31.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Evercore ISI reissued an “in-line” rating and issued a $35.00 target price (down previously from $38.00) on shares of Kraft Heinz in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut shares of Kraft Heinz from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $40.00 to $38.00 in a research note on Friday, October 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $35.23.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Pedro F. P. Navio sold 45,000 shares of Kraft Heinz stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.45, for a total value of $1,505,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 168,195 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,626,122.75. The trade was a 21.11 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.37% 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.