Sentry Investment Management LLC Makes New Investment in The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC)

Sentry Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 3,535 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $109,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Winch Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Kraft Heinz by 20.1% in the fourth quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,274 shares of the company’s stock worth $70,000 after buying an additional 380 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc lifted its position in shares of Kraft Heinz by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc now owns 9,560 shares of the company’s stock worth $336,000 after purchasing an additional 381 shares during the last quarter. Smith Thornton Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Kraft Heinz by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Smith Thornton Advisors LLC now owns 20,718 shares of the company’s stock worth $727,000 after purchasing an additional 435 shares during the last quarter. Cohen Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Kraft Heinz by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Cohen Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,266 shares of the company’s stock worth $315,000 after purchasing an additional 487 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LMG Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Kraft Heinz by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. LMG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 37,040 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,137,000 after purchasing an additional 498 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.17% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on KHC. StockNews.com cut Kraft Heinz from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on Kraft Heinz from $32.00 to $28.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. UBS Group cut their price objective on Kraft Heinz from $37.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on Kraft Heinz from $34.00 to $30.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on 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. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $30.86.

Kraft Heinz Trading Down 3.6 %

Shares of KHC opened at $30.58 on Thursday. The Kraft Heinz Company has a 1 year low of $27.25 and a 1 year high of $38.96. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $29.76 and a 200-day simple moving average of $32.46. The stock has a market cap of $36.55 billion, a PE ratio of 13.53, a PEG ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.47.

Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.06. Kraft Heinz had a return on equity of 7.58% and a net margin of 10.62%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that The Kraft Heinz Company will post 2.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kraft Heinz Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.23%. Kraft Heinz’s payout ratio is presently 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.