State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Decreases Holdings in The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC)

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D cut its stake in shares of The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) by 7.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 303,166 shares of the company’s stock after selling 23,082 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Kraft Heinz were worth $9,310,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Winch Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Kraft Heinz by 20.1% in the 4th quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,274 shares of the company’s stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 380 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc increased its stake in shares of Kraft Heinz by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc now owns 9,560 shares of the company’s stock worth $336,000 after purchasing an additional 381 shares in the last quarter. Smith Thornton Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Kraft Heinz by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Smith Thornton Advisors LLC now owns 20,718 shares of the company’s stock worth $727,000 after purchasing an additional 435 shares in the last quarter. Cohen Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Kraft Heinz by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Cohen Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,266 shares of the company’s stock worth $315,000 after purchasing an additional 487 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Keynote Financial Services LLC boosted its holdings in Kraft Heinz by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Keynote Financial Services LLC now owns 25,965 shares of the company’s stock worth $912,000 after buying an additional 512 shares during the period. 78.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kraft Heinz Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:KHC opened at $29.32 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The Kraft Heinz Company has a 12 month low of $27.25 and a 12 month high of $38.96. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $29.85 and a 200 day moving average price of $32.67. The company has a market cap of $35.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.41, a PEG ratio of 3.74 and a beta of 0.47.

Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.06. Kraft Heinz had a net margin of 5.24% and a return on equity of 7.46%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that The Kraft Heinz Company will post 3 earnings per share for the current year.

Kraft Heinz Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.46%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Kraft Heinz’s payout ratio is 144.14%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on KHC shares. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of Kraft Heinz from $34.00 to $30.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Kraft Heinz from $32.00 to $31.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Bank of America downgraded shares of Kraft Heinz from a “buy” rating to an “underperform” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $36.00 to $30.00 in a report on Thursday, February 13th. UBS Group dropped their target price 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. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of Kraft Heinz from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have given a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $30.86.

Kraft Heinz 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.