Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Trims Holdings in The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC)

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp lowered its position in shares of The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) by 5.1% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 731,671 shares of the company’s stock after selling 39,120 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp’s holdings in Kraft Heinz were worth $22,470,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. New York Life Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Kraft Heinz by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 130,075 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,995,000 after buying an additional 361 shares in the last quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC lifted its position in shares of Kraft Heinz by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 7,265 shares of the company’s stock valued at $223,000 after acquiring an additional 366 shares in the last quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Kraft Heinz by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 35,735 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,097,000 after acquiring an additional 370 shares during the period. Winch Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of Kraft Heinz by 20.1% during the fourth 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. Finally, Cohen Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in 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. 78.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Kraft Heinz Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ KHC opened at $30.07 on Friday. The Kraft Heinz Company has a 1 year low of $27.25 and a 1 year 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 company has a market cap of $35.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.31, a PEG ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.40. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $29.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $31.78.

Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. Research analysts anticipate that The Kraft Heinz Company will post 2.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Kraft Heinz Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.32%. Kraft Heinz’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 70.80%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on KHC shares. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Kraft Heinz from $33.00 to $29.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Evercore ISI reiterated an “in-line” rating and issued a $35.00 price target (down previously from $38.00) on shares of Kraft Heinz in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Citigroup lowered Kraft Heinz from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $34.00 to $28.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of Kraft Heinz from $34.00 to $30.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Mizuho lowered shares of Kraft Heinz from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $38.00 to $31.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and thirteen have assigned a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $30.73.

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.