The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) Shares Acquired by Great Lakes Advisors LLC

Great Lakes Advisors LLC grew its stake in The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC - Free Report) by 23.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 128,440 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 24,360 shares during the quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC's holdings in Kraft Heinz were worth $4,750,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of KHC. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in Kraft Heinz by 10.7% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 24,601,098 shares of the company's stock valued at $827,581,000 after purchasing an additional 2,369,080 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Kraft Heinz by 86.0% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 4,627,569 shares of the company's stock valued at $155,671,000 after buying an additional 2,140,153 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management increased its holdings in Kraft Heinz by 27.1% in the 3rd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 9,263,400 shares of the company's stock worth $311,621,000 after buying an additional 1,977,571 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in Kraft Heinz by 3,167.3% in the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,869,778 shares of the company's stock worth $63,198,000 after buying an additional 1,812,551 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in Kraft Heinz by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 12,580,726 shares of the company's stock valued at $423,216,000 after acquiring an additional 850,326 shares during the period. 78.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kraft Heinz Price Performance

Shares of KHC traded down $0.07 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $36.00. The stock had a trading volume of 6,117,589 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,673,633. The business has a fifty day moving average of $36.50 and a 200 day moving average of $36.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 1.09. The firm has a market cap of $43.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.72, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.65. The Kraft Heinz Company has a 12 month low of $30.68 and a 12 month high of $39.34.

Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The company reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $6.41 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.43 billion. Kraft Heinz had a net margin of 10.62% and a return on equity of 7.41%. Kraft Heinz's quarterly revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.68 EPS. Equities analysts predict that The Kraft Heinz Company will post 3.02 EPS for the current year.

Kraft Heinz Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.44%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 6th. Kraft Heinz's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.87%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Kraft Heinz from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Citigroup started coverage on Kraft Heinz in a report on Thursday, February 1st. They set a "buy" rating and a $43.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Kraft Heinz from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on Kraft Heinz from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $39.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Lande Rashida La sold 10,140 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.95, for a total transaction of $364,533.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 158,266 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,689,662.70. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.32% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.