Empowered Funds LLC Buys 19,056 Shares of The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC)

Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) by 22.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 102,377 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 19,056 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Kraft Heinz were worth $3,144,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in KHC. Trust Co. of Vermont raised its position in Kraft Heinz by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 10,388 shares of the company’s stock valued at $365,000 after purchasing an additional 358 shares during the last quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in Kraft Heinz by 20.1% in the fourth quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,274 shares of the company’s stock worth $70,000 after acquiring an additional 380 shares during the period. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc boosted its holdings in Kraft Heinz by 4.2% in the third quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc now owns 9,560 shares of the company’s stock valued at $336,000 after acquiring an additional 381 shares in the last quarter. Smith Thornton Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Kraft Heinz by 2.1% in the third quarter. Smith Thornton Advisors LLC now owns 20,718 shares of the company’s stock valued at $727,000 after acquiring an additional 435 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cohen Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Kraft Heinz by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Cohen Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,266 shares of the company’s stock valued at $315,000 after purchasing an additional 487 shares during the period. 78.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kraft Heinz Stock Up 2.2 %

Shares of Kraft Heinz stock opened at $29.25 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $29.98 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $32.80. The Kraft Heinz Company has a 52-week low of $27.25 and a 52-week high of $38.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 1.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.37 billion, a PE ratio of 26.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.74 and a beta of 0.47.

Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.06. Kraft Heinz had a return on equity of 7.46% and a net margin of 5.24%. On average, analysts anticipate that The Kraft Heinz Company will post 3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kraft Heinz Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.47%. Kraft Heinz’s payout ratio is 144.14%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on KHC shares. Citigroup cut shares of Kraft Heinz from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $34.00 to $28.00 in a research report on Thursday. Evercore ISI reiterated an “in-line” rating and set a $35.00 target price (down previously from $38.00) on shares of Kraft Heinz in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut Kraft Heinz from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $39.00 to $35.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Bank of America cut Kraft Heinz from a “buy” rating to an “underperform” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $36.00 to $30.00 in a research note on Thursday. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their price objective on Kraft Heinz from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $31.29.

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.