Russell Investments Group Ltd. Lowers Position in The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lessened its holdings in The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) by 26.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 233,377 shares of the company’s stock after selling 83,650 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Kraft Heinz were worth $8,629,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of KHC. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Kraft Heinz by 0.6% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 70,215,597 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,362,053,000 after acquiring an additional 417,115 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Kraft Heinz by 10.7% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in shares of Kraft Heinz by 7.2% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 12,580,726 shares of the company’s stock valued at $423,216,000 after purchasing an additional 850,326 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management boosted its stake in Kraft Heinz by 27.1% during the third 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in Kraft Heinz by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,120,015 shares of the company’s stock valued at $306,797,000 after buying an additional 324,450 shares in the last quarter. 78.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kraft Heinz Price Performance

Kraft Heinz stock opened at $35.74 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $43.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $36.35 and a 200-day simple moving average of $35.84. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The Kraft Heinz Company has a 12-month low of $30.68 and a 12-month high of $41.33.

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

Kraft Heinz Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 6th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.48%. Kraft Heinz’s payout ratio is currently 69.87%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on KHC shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of Kraft Heinz from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Kraft Heinz from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Kraft Heinz in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $43.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Kraft Heinz from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $39.50.

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.