Marshall Wace LLP Increases Holdings in The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC)

Marshall Wace LLP boosted its position in The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC - Free Report) by 99.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 28,469 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 14,169 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP's holdings in Kraft Heinz were worth $874,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of KHC. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Kraft Heinz by 36.4% in the fourth quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 69,732 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,141,000 after purchasing an additional 18,593 shares during the last quarter. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Kraft Heinz by 108.1% during the 4th quarter. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC now owns 22,012 shares of the company's stock valued at $676,000 after buying an additional 11,436 shares during the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of Kraft Heinz by 194.0% in the fourth quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 152,984 shares of the company's stock worth $4,698,000 after acquiring an additional 100,954 shares during the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Kraft Heinz by 57.3% in the fourth quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 2,031 shares of the company's stock worth $62,000 after acquiring an additional 740 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board acquired a new stake in shares of Kraft Heinz during the fourth quarter valued at $263,000. 78.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kraft Heinz Stock Up 0.8 %

KHC opened at $29.10 on Thursday. The Kraft Heinz Company has a 1 year low of $27.25 and a 1 year high of $37.70. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $29.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $30.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 1.06. The company has a market cap of $34.73 billion, a PE ratio of 12.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.44.

Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $6 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.02 billion. Kraft Heinz had a net margin of 10.62% and a return on equity of 7.58%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.69 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that The Kraft Heinz Company will post 2.68 earnings per share for the current 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 paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. Kraft Heinz's dividend payout ratio is presently 70.80%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Kraft Heinz from $32.00 to $31.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Bank of America downgraded shares of Kraft Heinz from a "buy" rating to an "underperform" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $36.00 to $30.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Mizuho downgraded Kraft Heinz from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price target for the company from $38.00 to $31.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on Kraft Heinz from $34.00 to $30.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Kraft Heinz from $31.00 to $30.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fourteen have assigned a hold 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 $30.63.

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.

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