Handelsbanken Fonder AB Lowers Position in The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB cut its holdings in shares of The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) by 0.4% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 419,100 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,874 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Kraft Heinz were worth $12,753,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Generali Investments Management Co LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kraft Heinz during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. purchased a new position in shares of Kraft Heinz during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Kraft Heinz during the 4th quarter worth $36,000. Pinney & Scofield Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Kraft Heinz during the 4th quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Kennondale Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kraft Heinz during the 4th quarter worth $45,000. 78.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kraft Heinz Price Performance

KHC stock opened at $26.42 on Thursday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $31.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.69, a P/E/G ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.27. The business’s 50-day moving average is $28.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $29.50. The Kraft Heinz Company has a 1 year low of $26.01 and a 1 year high of $36.53.

Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.02. The company 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%. Kraft Heinz’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.69 EPS. Analysts anticipate that The Kraft Heinz Company will post 2.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kraft Heinz Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.06%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. Kraft Heinz’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 73.06%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on KHC shares. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered Kraft Heinz from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $34.00 to $31.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Citigroup reissued a “sell” rating and set a $27.00 target price (down previously from $28.00) on shares of Kraft Heinz in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Kraft Heinz from $31.00 to $30.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Kraft Heinz from $32.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, DZ Bank lowered Kraft Heinz from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $31.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have given a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $30.35.

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.