Vanguard Group Inc. Raises Position in The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC)

Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) by 0.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 70,490,606 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 91,775 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 5.81% of Kraft Heinz worth $2,601,103,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. TCW Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Kraft Heinz during the 4th quarter worth $1,098,000. Shell Asset Management Co. increased its stake in shares of Kraft Heinz by 251.3% in the fourth quarter. Shell Asset Management Co. now owns 33,829 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,251,000 after purchasing an additional 24,199 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its position in shares of Kraft Heinz by 120.8% in the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 137,353 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,079,000 after purchasing an additional 75,149 shares during the period. Bridgewater Associates LP lifted its stake in shares of Kraft Heinz by 7.7% during the 4th quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 1,661,700 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,450,000 after buying an additional 118,260 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GLOBALT Investments LLC GA bought a new position in Kraft Heinz in the 4th quarter worth approximately $7,743,000. 78.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on KHC shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on Kraft Heinz from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Bank of America cut their target price on Kraft Heinz from $42.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Barclays decreased their price target on Kraft Heinz from $36.00 to $34.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Kraft Heinz from $37.00 to $34.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of Kraft Heinz from $42.00 to $41.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Kraft Heinz has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $38.83.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Lande Rashida La sold 10,140 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.95, for a total transaction of $364,533.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 158,266 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,689,662.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.32% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Kraft Heinz Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ KHC traded down $0.65 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $33.12. 6,419,102 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,322,866. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.22 billion, a PE ratio of 14.46, a PEG ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The Kraft Heinz Company has a 52 week low of $30.68 and a 52 week high of $38.96. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $33.76 and its 200 day moving average price is $35.58.

Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The company reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $6.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.43 billion. Kraft Heinz had a return on equity of 7.41% and a net margin of 10.62%. The company’s revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.68 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that The Kraft Heinz Company will post 3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kraft Heinz Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 6th were issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 6th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.83%. Kraft Heinz’s payout ratio is 69.87%.

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.