Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Has $2.23 Million Stock Position in The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System grew its position in The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) by 9.8% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 69,256 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,208 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Kraft Heinz were worth $2,231,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in KHC. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Kraft Heinz by 84.6% during the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 6,428 shares of the company’s stock worth $238,000 after purchasing an additional 2,945 shares during the period. Choreo LLC lifted its stake in Kraft Heinz by 40.4% in the fourth quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 11,125 shares of the company’s stock valued at $411,000 after acquiring an additional 3,204 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. lifted its stake in Kraft Heinz by 28.4% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 25,406 shares of the company’s stock valued at $939,000 after acquiring an additional 5,612 shares during the last quarter. LGT Group Foundation lifted its stake in Kraft Heinz by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. LGT Group Foundation now owns 61,501 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,260,000 after acquiring an additional 389 shares during the last quarter. Finally, West Family Investments Inc. acquired a new stake in Kraft Heinz in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $243,000. 78.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kraft Heinz Stock Performance

NASDAQ:KHC traded up $0.56 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $35.43. 9,320,383 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,946,796. The Kraft Heinz Company has a twelve month low of $30.68 and a twelve month high of $38.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.47, a P/E/G ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $33.77 and a 200 day moving average of $35.05.

Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.05. Kraft Heinz had a net margin of 7.30% and a return on equity of 7.38%. The business had revenue of $6.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.55 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.79 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that The Kraft Heinz Company will post 3.02 EPS for the current year.

Kraft Heinz Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.52%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 30th. Kraft Heinz’s dividend payout ratio is currently 69.87%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Cory Onell sold 4,076 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.00, for a total value of $146,736.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 143,970 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,182,920. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on KHC. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Kraft Heinz from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Kraft Heinz in a research report on Monday, August 12th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $34.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Kraft Heinz from $42.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Kraft Heinz from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their price target on shares of Kraft Heinz from $42.00 to $38.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Kraft Heinz currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $37.31.

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.