AJOVista LLC Buys New Stake in The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC)

AJOVista LLC purchased a new position in shares of The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 2,627 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $97,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in KHC. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Kraft Heinz by 0.6% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 70,215,597 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,362,053,000 after acquiring an additional 417,115 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Kraft Heinz by 10.7% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 24,601,098 shares of the company’s stock valued at $827,581,000 after purchasing an additional 2,369,080 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley increased its stake in Kraft Heinz by 7.2% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 12,580,726 shares of the company’s stock valued at $423,216,000 after purchasing an additional 850,326 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management lifted its position in Kraft Heinz by 27.1% during the third quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 9,263,400 shares of the company’s stock worth $311,621,000 after buying an additional 1,977,571 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Kraft Heinz by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,120,015 shares of the company’s stock worth $306,797,000 after buying an additional 324,450 shares during the last quarter. 78.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kraft Heinz Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of KHC traded down $0.37 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $36.35. 7,102,855 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,314,267. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $36.35 and a 200 day simple moving average of $35.75. The Kraft Heinz Company has a 12-month low of $30.68 and a 12-month high of $41.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The firm has a market cap of $44.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.65.

Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The company reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.01. Kraft Heinz had a net margin of 10.62% and a return on equity of 7.41%. The company had revenue of $6.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.43 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.68 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that The Kraft Heinz Company will post 3.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kraft Heinz Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 6th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 6th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.40%. Kraft Heinz’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.87%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on KHC. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Kraft Heinz in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $43.00 target price on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on Kraft Heinz from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Kraft Heinz from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Kraft Heinz from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $39.50.

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.