The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) Shares Sold by Ameriprise Financial Inc.

Ameriprise Financial Inc. reduced its position in The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC - Free Report) by 32.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,687,144 shares of the company's stock after selling 810,635 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned 0.14% of Kraft Heinz worth $51,809,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Kraft Heinz by 19.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 90,508,763 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,779,524,000 after acquiring an additional 14,996,486 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Kraft Heinz during the 4th quarter worth approximately $324,857,000. Criteria Caixa S.A.U. acquired a new position in Kraft Heinz during the 4th quarter worth approximately $73,316,000. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC increased its position in Kraft Heinz by 96.4% during the 4th quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC now owns 2,858,253 shares of the company's stock worth $87,777,000 after purchasing an additional 1,403,220 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Kraft Heinz during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,339,000. 78.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kraft Heinz Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of Kraft Heinz stock traded up $0.15 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $27.64. 3,138,625 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,204,625. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.30. The company has a fifty day moving average of $29.29 and a 200-day moving average of $30.24. The Kraft Heinz Company has a 52-week low of $27.14 and a 52-week high of $36.53.

Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $6 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.02 billion. Kraft Heinz had a return on equity of 7.58% and a net margin of 10.62%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.69 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that The Kraft Heinz Company will post 2.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kraft Heinz Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.79%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. Kraft Heinz's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 73.06%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KHC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Kraft Heinz from $31.00 to $30.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Kraft Heinz from $34.00 to $30.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Cfra Research cut Kraft Heinz from a "moderate buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Barclays lowered their price target on Kraft Heinz from $33.00 to $29.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Mizuho cut Kraft Heinz from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $38.00 to $31.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $30.65.

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.