The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) Position Trimmed by Aviva PLC

Aviva PLC reduced its holdings in The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) by 1.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 882,771 shares of the company’s stock after selling 17,028 shares during the period. Aviva PLC’s holdings in Kraft Heinz were worth $27,110,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Kraft Heinz by 19.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 90,508,763 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,779,524,000 after purchasing an additional 14,996,486 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Kraft Heinz during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $324,857,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Kraft Heinz by 11.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,150,328 shares of the company’s stock worth $669,821,000 after buying an additional 1,944,019 shares during the period. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC lifted its stake in Kraft Heinz by 96.4% in the fourth quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC now owns 2,858,253 shares of the company’s stock valued at $87,777,000 after buying an additional 1,403,220 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Kraft Heinz during the fourth quarter valued at $39,339,000. 78.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kraft Heinz Trading Down 3.7 %

Kraft Heinz stock opened at $29.68 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $35.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.44. The Kraft Heinz Company has a 1 year low of $27.25 and a 1 year high of $38.96. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $30.09 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $31.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 1.06.

Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.06. Kraft Heinz had a return on equity of 7.58% and a net margin of 10.62%. On average, research analysts predict that The Kraft Heinz Company will post 2.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kraft Heinz Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.39%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. Kraft Heinz’s payout ratio is 70.80%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Kraft Heinz from $33.00 to $29.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “sell” rating and set a $27.00 price target (down previously from $28.00) on shares of Kraft Heinz in a report on Friday. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Kraft Heinz from $35.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. TD Cowen cut their target price on Kraft Heinz from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Mizuho lowered Kraft Heinz from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $38.00 to $31.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have given a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Kraft Heinz has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $30.67.

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.