First Trust Advisors LP Has $135.86 Million Stake in The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC)

First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC - Free Report) by 5.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,424,038 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 241,087 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned approximately 0.37% of Kraft Heinz worth $135,862,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Sawyer & Company Inc bought a new position in Kraft Heinz during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Generali Investments Management Co LLC bought a new position in shares of Kraft Heinz in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. acquired a new position in Kraft Heinz in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of Kraft Heinz in the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Kraft Heinz during the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,000. Institutional investors own 78.17% of the company's stock.

Kraft Heinz Price Performance

Shares of Kraft Heinz stock traded down $0.16 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $29.49. The company had a trading volume of 3,680,168 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,050,193. The company has a market capitalization of $35.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.04, 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 company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $30.06 and a 200 day simple moving average of $30.96.

Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 7.58% and a net margin of 10.62%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that The Kraft Heinz Company will post 2.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Kraft Heinz Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Kraft Heinz from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Citigroup restated a "sell" rating and set a $27.00 price objective (down from $28.00) on shares of Kraft Heinz in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on Kraft Heinz in a research report on Monday, March 24th. They issued an "underweight" rating and a $29.00 target price for the company. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Kraft Heinz from $32.00 to $31.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of Kraft Heinz from $34.00 to $30.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fourteen have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price 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.