Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS Raises Holdings in Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC)

Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS lifted its holdings in shares of Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) by 5.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 350,723 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 17,101 shares during the period. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS’s holdings in Kraft Heinz were worth $10,673,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of KHC. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Kraft Heinz by 19.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 90,508,763 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,779,524,000 after buying an additional 14,996,486 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Kraft Heinz by 3.1% in 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 in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Kraft Heinz in the 4th quarter worth approximately $324,857,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in Kraft Heinz by 12.6% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,289,691 shares of the company’s stock worth $285,286,000 after purchasing an additional 1,039,885 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in Kraft Heinz by 23.4% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 8,585,167 shares of the company’s stock worth $263,650,000 after purchasing an additional 1,628,516 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.17% of the company’s stock.

Kraft Heinz Trading Up 2.4%

Shares of KHC stock opened at $27.80 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $26.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $28.68. The company has a current ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The stock has a market cap of $32.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.69, a PEG ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.25. Kraft Heinz Company has a twelve month low of $25.44 and a twelve month high of $36.53.

Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $6 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.02 billion. Kraft Heinz had a net margin of 10.44% and a return on equity of 7.37%. The company’s revenue was down 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.69 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Kraft Heinz Company will post 2.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Kraft Heinz Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th were given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 30th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.76%. Kraft Heinz’s payout ratio is currently 73.06%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Kraft Heinz from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday. Citigroup reaffirmed a “sell” rating and set a $27.00 target price (down from $28.00) on shares of Kraft Heinz in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Kraft Heinz in a research note on Monday, March 24th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $29.00 target price for the company. Mizuho set a $29.00 target price on Kraft Heinz and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, Cfra Research downgraded Kraft Heinz from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have given a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Kraft Heinz presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $30.41.

About Kraft Heinz

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.