Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. increased its position in shares of The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC - Free Report) by 11.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,637,388 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 263,061 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. owned about 0.22% of Kraft Heinz worth $97,531,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Ancora Advisors LLC boosted its position in Kraft Heinz by 69.9% in 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. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new stake in Kraft Heinz in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in Kraft Heinz in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. acquired a new stake in Kraft Heinz in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Kraft Heinz in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.17% of the company's stock.

Kraft Heinz Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of KHC traded up $0.31 on Wednesday, reaching $36.90. The company's stock had a trading volume of 6,175,213 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,144,005. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The Kraft Heinz Company has a twelve month low of $30.68 and a twelve month high of $41.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.86 billion, a PE ratio of 15.97, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.67. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $35.86 and a 200-day moving average of $35.34.

Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The company reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $6.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.99 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.85 EPS. The firm's revenue was down 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that The Kraft Heinz Company will post 3.02 EPS for the current year.

Kraft Heinz Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 8th were given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. Kraft Heinz's payout ratio is 69.26%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on KHC. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Kraft Heinz from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Citigroup initiated 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 on the stock. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Kraft Heinz from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday. Seven 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.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $40.71.

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.