Raymond James Financial Inc. Acquires New Shares in The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC)

Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 1,280,982 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $39,339,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned about 0.11% of Kraft Heinz at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sawyer & Company Inc acquired a new stake in Kraft Heinz during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Generali Investments Management Co LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kraft Heinz in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. acquired a new stake in shares of Kraft Heinz during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in Kraft Heinz during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in Kraft Heinz during the fourth quarter worth $36,000. 78.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI restated an "in-line" rating and issued a $35.00 price target (down from $38.00) on shares of Kraft Heinz in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. TD Cowen decreased their target price on Kraft Heinz from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Kraft Heinz from $32.00 to $31.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on Kraft Heinz from $32.00 to $28.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Bank of America lowered shares of Kraft Heinz from a "buy" rating to an "underperform" rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $36.00 to $30.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have given a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $30.67.

Kraft Heinz Price Performance

Kraft Heinz stock traded up $0.27 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $29.73. The company's stock had a trading volume of 585,560 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,027,386. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $29.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $31.04. The company has a market capitalization of $35.48 billion, a PE ratio of 13.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The Kraft Heinz Company has a 12 month low of $27.25 and a 12 month high of $38.96.

Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.84 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%. Analysts anticipate that The Kraft Heinz Company will post 2.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kraft Heinz Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. Kraft Heinz's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 70.80%.

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.