Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC Increases Stake in The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC)

Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) by 3.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 44,895 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,299 shares during the period. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Kraft Heinz were worth $1,660,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Community Bank & Trust Waco Texas increased its holdings in shares of Kraft Heinz by 18.3% in the 4th quarter. Community Bank & Trust Waco Texas now owns 23,296 shares of the company’s stock valued at $861,000 after purchasing an additional 3,604 shares in the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund raised its holdings in Kraft Heinz by 10.0% in the fourth quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 578,590 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,396,000 after buying an additional 52,782 shares during the period. Foster & Motley Inc. raised its holdings in Kraft Heinz by 14.9% in the fourth quarter. Foster & Motley Inc. now owns 47,330 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,750,000 after buying an additional 6,129 shares during the period. Duality Advisers LP purchased a new position in Kraft Heinz in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $694,000. Finally, Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Kraft Heinz by 51.0% during the fourth quarter. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 12,401 shares of the company’s stock valued at $459,000 after purchasing an additional 4,187 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.17% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KHC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Kraft Heinz from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Kraft Heinz from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of Kraft Heinz from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Citigroup started coverage on shares of Kraft Heinz in a report on Thursday, February 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $43.00 price objective for the company. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $40.57.

Kraft Heinz Price Performance

Kraft Heinz stock traded up $0.35 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $38.42. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,279,353 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,030,901. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $35.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $35.48. The Kraft Heinz Company has a 12 month low of $30.68 and a 12 month high of $41.47. The company has a market capitalization of $46.70 billion, a PE ratio of 16.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.67.

Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 14th. The company reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.01. Kraft Heinz had a return on equity of 7.42% and a net margin of 10.72%. The firm had revenue of $6.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.99 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.85 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that The Kraft Heinz Company will post 3.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kraft Heinz Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 8th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.16%. Kraft Heinz’s payout ratio is currently 69.26%.

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.