The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) Shares Bought by Rafferty Asset Management LLC

Rafferty Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC - Free Report) by 23.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 497,706 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 93,864 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC's holdings in Kraft Heinz were worth $15,285,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Raiffeisen Bank International AG acquired a new position in Kraft Heinz during the 4th quarter worth $330,000. Redwood Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Kraft Heinz by 6.8% in the 4th quarter. Redwood Investment Management LLC now owns 59,901 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,840,000 after buying an additional 3,823 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Kraft Heinz by 19.9% in the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 1,515,039 shares of the company's stock valued at $46,527,000 after buying an additional 251,331 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of Kraft Heinz by 73.1% in the 4th quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 272,095 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,356,000 after buying an additional 114,943 shares during the period. Finally, Mufg Securities Americas Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Kraft Heinz in the 4th quarter valued at about $400,000. 78.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kraft Heinz Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:KHC opened at $27.49 on Friday. The Kraft Heinz Company has a 12 month low of $27.14 and a 12 month high of $36.53. The stock has a market cap of $32.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.16, a PEG ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.30. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $29.29 and its 200 day moving average price is $30.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 0.59.

Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.02. Kraft Heinz had a return on equity of 7.58% and a net margin of 10.62%. The firm had revenue of $6 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.02 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.69 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that The Kraft Heinz Company will post 2.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kraft Heinz Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Investors of record on Friday, May 30th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.82%. Kraft Heinz's payout ratio is currently 73.06%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on KHC. Cfra Research lowered shares of Kraft Heinz from a "moderate buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Kraft Heinz from $37.00 to $31.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Mizuho downgraded shares of Kraft Heinz from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $38.00 to $31.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded shares of Kraft Heinz from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $34.00 to $31.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Kraft Heinz in a research report on Monday, March 24th. They issued an "underweight" rating and a $29.00 price objective on the stock. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have assigned a hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Kraft Heinz currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $30.65.

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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