Hartford Investment Management Co. Decreases Stock Holdings in The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC)

Hartford Investment Management Co. lowered its stake in shares of The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) by 1.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 54,285 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,050 shares during the quarter. Hartford Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Kraft Heinz were worth $1,667,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Kraft Heinz by 16.7% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 44,400,402 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,558,898,000 after buying an additional 6,366,732 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Kraft Heinz by 11.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,150,328 shares of the company’s stock valued at $669,821,000 after acquiring an additional 1,944,019 shares during the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Kraft Heinz in the third quarter valued at approximately $411,304,000. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in Kraft Heinz by 16.3% in 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Kraft Heinz by 11.5% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,307,598 shares of the company’s stock worth $186,350,000 after purchasing an additional 545,504 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.17% of the company’s stock.

Kraft Heinz Price Performance

NASDAQ:KHC opened at $29.25 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $29.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $32.80. The firm has a market cap of $35.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.35, a PEG ratio of 3.74 and a beta of 0.47. The Kraft Heinz Company has a one year low of $27.25 and a one year high of $38.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 1.06.

Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.06. Kraft Heinz had a return on equity of 7.46% and a net margin of 5.24%. Research analysts expect that The Kraft Heinz Company will post 3 EPS for the current year.

Kraft Heinz Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.47%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Kraft Heinz’s dividend payout ratio is currently 144.14%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on KHC shares. Jefferies Financial Group lowered 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. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Kraft Heinz from $32.00 to $28.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Evercore ISI restated an “in-line” rating and set a $35.00 price objective (down previously from $38.00) on shares of Kraft Heinz in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Bank of America cut shares of Kraft Heinz from a “buy” rating to an “underperform” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $36.00 to $30.00 in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Citigroup lowered shares of Kraft Heinz from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the company from $34.00 to $28.00 in a research note on Thursday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Kraft Heinz presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $31.29.

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.