Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Grows Stake in The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) by 169.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 587,180 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 369,231 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Kraft Heinz were worth $21,714,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Raymond James Trust N.A. increased its holdings in Kraft Heinz by 11.0% during the 4th quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 39,610 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,465,000 after acquiring an additional 3,916 shares during the period. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Kraft Heinz during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $5,399,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Kraft Heinz by 16.3% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,768,073 shares of the company’s stock worth $59,478,000 after acquiring an additional 247,896 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Kraft Heinz by 37.9% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,029,052 shares of the company’s stock worth $101,897,000 after acquiring an additional 832,653 shares during the period. Finally, Bayesian Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Kraft Heinz during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $4,377,000. Institutional investors own 78.17% of the company’s stock.

Kraft Heinz Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of KHC opened at $36.53 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.81, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $35.96 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $35.00. The Kraft Heinz Company has a twelve month low of $30.68 and a twelve month high of $41.47.

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

Kraft Heinz Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 8th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.38%. Kraft Heinz’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.26%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Kraft Heinz from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Kraft Heinz from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $40.00 to $42.00 in a report on Monday, December 11th. Finally, Citigroup began coverage on shares of Kraft Heinz in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $43.00 price objective for the company. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $40.57.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kraft Heinz news, Director Miguel Patricio sold 131,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.02, for a total value of $4,999,630.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 992,049 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,717,702.98. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

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.