The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) Shares Bought by Daiwa Securities Group Inc.

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) by 6.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 133,802 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,514 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Kraft Heinz were worth $4,948,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Kraft Heinz by 23.4% in the 4th quarter. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,424 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares during the period. Ancora Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Kraft Heinz by 69.9% during the first quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 661 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 272 shares in the last quarter. Archer Investment Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Kraft Heinz by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 14,709 shares of the company’s stock worth $544,000 after buying an additional 294 shares during the period. Ingalls & Snyder LLC increased its position in shares of Kraft Heinz by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Ingalls & Snyder LLC now owns 10,005 shares of the company’s stock worth $370,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Econ Financial Services Corp raised its holdings in shares of Kraft Heinz by 0.6% during the third quarter. Econ Financial Services Corp now owns 53,310 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,793,000 after acquiring an additional 310 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.17% of the company’s stock.

Kraft Heinz Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of Kraft Heinz stock opened at $37.78 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $35.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $35.37. The Kraft Heinz Company has a 52-week low of $30.68 and a 52-week high of $41.47. The firm has a market cap of $45.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.54.

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

Kraft Heinz Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 8th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.24%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. Kraft Heinz’s payout ratio is 69.26%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on KHC. 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. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Kraft Heinz from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on Kraft Heinz from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on Kraft Heinz from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Kraft Heinz presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $40.57.

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.