The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) Shares Sold by Quartz Partners LLC

Quartz Partners LLC reduced its stake in shares of The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) by 9.9% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 16,152 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,779 shares during the quarter. Quartz Partners LLC’s holdings in Kraft Heinz were worth $496,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of KHC. AMF Tjanstepension AB raised its holdings in shares of Kraft Heinz by 143.4% in the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 245,522 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,620,000 after acquiring an additional 144,646 shares during the last quarter. Eastern Bank purchased a new stake in Kraft Heinz during the 3rd quarter worth about $41,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Kraft Heinz by 4,806.3% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 616,134 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,632,000 after purchasing an additional 603,576 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in Kraft Heinz by 37.4% in the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 13,580 shares of the company’s stock valued at $477,000 after purchasing an additional 3,695 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lifted its holdings in Kraft Heinz by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 141,900 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,982,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.17% of the company’s stock.

Kraft Heinz Stock Performance

NASDAQ KHC opened at $31.13 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The Kraft Heinz Company has a 1-year low of $27.25 and a 1-year high of $38.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.77, a P/E/G ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.47. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $29.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $32.53.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.06. Kraft Heinz had a net margin of 10.62% and a return on equity of 7.58%. Equities analysts predict that The Kraft Heinz Company will post 2.68 EPS for the current year.

Kraft Heinz Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.14%. Kraft Heinz’s dividend payout ratio is currently 70.80%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on KHC. Bank of America lowered shares of Kraft Heinz from a “buy” rating to an “underperform” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $36.00 to $30.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on Kraft Heinz from $34.00 to $30.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Kraft Heinz from $32.00 to $31.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays dropped their target price on 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Kraft Heinz from $32.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $30.86.

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.