CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co Cuts Position in The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC)

CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co lowered its holdings in shares of The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC - Free Report) by 6.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,088,030 shares of the company's stock after selling 77,356 shares during the period. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co owned 0.09% of Kraft Heinz worth $33,395,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Sawyer & Company Inc acquired a new position in Kraft Heinz in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Generali Investments Management Co LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kraft Heinz in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. acquired a new position in shares of Kraft Heinz during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Kraft Heinz during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in Kraft Heinz in the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. 78.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kraft Heinz Trading Down 2.0 %

NASDAQ:KHC traded down $0.60 on Thursday, reaching $29.49. The stock had a trading volume of 3,996,971 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,746,576. The company has a market cap of $35.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.05, a P/E/G ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.44. The Kraft Heinz Company has a 12-month low of $27.25 and a 12-month high of $38.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The firm's fifty day moving average is $30.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $30.99.

Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC - Get Free Report) last announced 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 net margin of 10.62% and a return on equity of 7.58%. Equities analysts expect that The Kraft Heinz Company will post 2.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kraft Heinz Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. Kraft Heinz's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 70.80%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KHC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Kraft Heinz from $32.00 to $31.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com raised Kraft Heinz from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Kraft Heinz from $31.00 to $30.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Citigroup reiterated a "sell" rating and issued a $27.00 price objective (down previously from $28.00) on shares of Kraft Heinz in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of Kraft Heinz from $32.00 to $28.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fourteen have given a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $30.69.

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.