Howard Capital Management Inc. Boosts Stock Position in The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC)

Howard Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) by 43.3% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 31,108 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 9,398 shares during the quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Kraft Heinz were worth $955,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Winch Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in 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 during the period. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Kraft Heinz by 4.2% in the third quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc now owns 9,560 shares of the company’s stock worth $336,000 after buying an additional 381 shares in the last quarter. Smith Thornton Advisors LLC grew its stake in Kraft Heinz by 2.1% during the third quarter. Smith Thornton Advisors LLC now owns 20,718 shares of the company’s stock valued at $727,000 after acquiring an additional 435 shares in the last quarter. Cohen Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Kraft Heinz by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Cohen Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,266 shares of the company’s stock worth $315,000 after acquiring an additional 487 shares during the period. Finally, LMG Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in Kraft Heinz by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. LMG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 37,040 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,137,000 after purchasing an additional 498 shares in the last quarter. 78.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kraft Heinz Trading Up 3.2 %

KHC stock opened at $31.13 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $37.20 billion, a PE ratio of 13.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 1.06. The Kraft Heinz Company has a one year low of $27.25 and a one year high of $38.96. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $29.73 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $32.53.

Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.06. Kraft Heinz had a net margin of 10.62% and a return on equity of 7.58%. As a group, analysts predict that The Kraft Heinz Company will post 2.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kraft Heinz Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.14%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Kraft Heinz’s dividend payout ratio is presently 70.80%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on KHC. Citigroup lowered shares of Kraft Heinz from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $34.00 to $28.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered Kraft Heinz from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $39.00 to $35.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Bank of America downgraded Kraft Heinz from a “buy” rating to an “underperform” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $36.00 to $30.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Kraft Heinz from $31.00 to $30.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of Kraft Heinz from $35.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Kraft Heinz has an average 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.