Foster & Motley Inc. Boosts Stake in The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC)

Foster & Motley Inc. raised its stake in shares of The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) by 14.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 47,330 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,129 shares during the period. Foster & Motley Inc.’s holdings in Kraft Heinz were worth $1,750,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raymond James Trust N.A. raised its position in Kraft Heinz by 11.0% during the fourth quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 39,610 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,465,000 after purchasing an additional 3,916 shares during the period. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Kraft Heinz in the third quarter worth approximately $5,399,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Kraft Heinz by 16.3% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,768,073 shares of the company’s stock worth $59,478,000 after buying an additional 247,896 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Kraft Heinz by 42.5% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 457,923 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,934,000 after buying an additional 136,556 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC grew its stake in Kraft Heinz by 37.9% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,029,052 shares of the company’s stock worth $101,897,000 after purchasing an additional 832,653 shares in the last quarter. 78.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kraft Heinz Stock Performance

NASDAQ KHC opened at $38.21 on Tuesday. The Kraft Heinz Company has a fifty-two week low of $30.68 and a fifty-two week high of $41.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.52, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.67. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $35.94 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $35.44.

Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 14th. The company reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $6.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.99 billion. Kraft Heinz had a return on equity of 7.42% and a net margin of 10.72%. Kraft Heinz’s revenue was down 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.85 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that The Kraft Heinz Company will post 3.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Kraft Heinz Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 8th were given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. Kraft Heinz’s payout ratio is 69.26%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KHC has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Kraft Heinz from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on Kraft Heinz from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Citigroup began coverage on Kraft Heinz in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $43.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on Kraft Heinz from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $40.57.

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.