Zacks Investment Management Decreases Stake in The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC)

Zacks Investment Management trimmed its stake in The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC - Free Report) by 19.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 257,767 shares of the company's stock after selling 60,661 shares during the period. Zacks Investment Management's holdings in Kraft Heinz were worth $7,916,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Kraft Heinz by 19.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 90,508,763 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,779,524,000 after buying an additional 14,996,486 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Kraft Heinz in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $324,857,000. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC grew its position in Kraft Heinz by 96.4% during the fourth quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC now owns 2,858,253 shares of the company's stock worth $87,777,000 after buying an additional 1,403,220 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Kraft Heinz during the fourth quarter worth about $39,339,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in shares of Kraft Heinz by 16.3% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 8,813,268 shares of the company's stock valued at $269,906,000 after acquiring an additional 1,238,200 shares during the period. 78.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kraft Heinz Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:KHC traded up $0.37 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $30.31. 2,866,389 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,028,472. The Kraft Heinz Company has a 12-month low of $27.25 and a 12-month high of $38.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.41, a PEG ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.44. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $30.01 and its 200-day moving average price is $31.01.

Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.06. Kraft Heinz had a net margin of 10.62% and a return on equity of 7.58%. On average, research analysts predict that The Kraft Heinz Company will post 2.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kraft Heinz Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.28%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. Kraft Heinz's dividend payout ratio is currently 70.80%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KHC has been the subject of several research reports. Cfra Research cut Kraft Heinz from a "moderate buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Mizuho downgraded Kraft Heinz from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $38.00 to $31.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on Kraft Heinz in a report on Monday, March 24th. They set an "underweight" rating and a $29.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Kraft Heinz from $37.00 to $31.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Kraft Heinz from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fourteen have assigned a hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $30.69.

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.