US Bancorp DE Reduces Stock Position in The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC)

US Bancorp DE cut its stake in The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) by 2.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 92,407 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,852 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE’s holdings in Kraft Heinz were worth $2,838,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. New York Life Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Kraft Heinz by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 130,075 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,995,000 after purchasing an additional 361 shares during the last quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC grew its position in shares of Kraft Heinz by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 7,265 shares of the company’s stock valued at $223,000 after purchasing an additional 366 shares during the last quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC grew 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 valued at $70,000 after purchasing an additional 380 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc grew its stake in Kraft Heinz by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc now owns 9,560 shares of the company’s stock worth $336,000 after acquiring an additional 381 shares during the period. Finally, Smith Thornton Advisors LLC grew its stake in Kraft Heinz by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Smith Thornton Advisors LLC now owns 20,718 shares of the company’s stock worth $727,000 after acquiring an additional 435 shares during the period. 78.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kraft Heinz Stock Performance

NASDAQ:KHC opened at $31.28 on Friday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $37.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.84, a PEG ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.40. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $29.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $32.33. The Kraft Heinz Company has a twelve month low of $27.25 and a twelve month high of $38.96.

Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC) last posted 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 net margin of 10.62% and a return on equity of 7.58%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that The Kraft Heinz Company will post 2.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kraft Heinz Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.12%. Kraft Heinz’s dividend payout ratio is currently 70.80%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on KHC shares. Barclays lowered 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 note on Friday, February 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Kraft Heinz from $32.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of Kraft Heinz from $32.00 to $31.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Mizuho cut shares of Kraft Heinz from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $38.00 to $31.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Citigroup cut shares of Kraft Heinz from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $34.00 to $28.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Kraft Heinz presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $30.86.

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.