The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) Shares Acquired by EP Wealth Advisors LLC

EP Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) by 4.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 58,118 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,423 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Kraft Heinz were worth $1,785,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of KHC. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Kraft Heinz by 19.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 90,508,763 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,779,524,000 after acquiring an additional 14,996,486 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Kraft Heinz by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,745,734 shares of the company’s stock worth $604,644,000 after purchasing an additional 595,406 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Kraft Heinz in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $324,857,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in Kraft Heinz by 12.6% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,289,691 shares of the company’s stock worth $285,286,000 after buying an additional 1,039,885 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Kraft Heinz by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,525,110 shares of the company’s stock worth $200,369,000 after buying an additional 174,706 shares during the last quarter. 78.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Kraft Heinz from $32.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Kraft Heinz in a research note on Monday, March 24th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $29.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Kraft Heinz from $37.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on Kraft Heinz from $32.00 to $28.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Kraft Heinz from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Kraft Heinz has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $30.65.

Kraft Heinz Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of KHC stock opened at $28.08 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.30. The Kraft Heinz Company has a fifty-two week low of $27.25 and a fifty-two week high of $36.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 1.06. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $29.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $30.45.

Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $6 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.02 billion. Kraft Heinz had a return on equity of 7.58% and a net margin of 10.62%. The company’s revenue was down 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.69 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that The Kraft Heinz Company will post 2.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kraft Heinz Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. Kraft Heinz’s dividend payout ratio is presently 73.06%.

Kraft Heinz 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.