The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) Shares Bought by Wedbush Securities Inc.

Wedbush Securities Inc. lifted its stake in shares of The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) by 52.1% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 28,719 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 9,835 shares during the quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc.’s holdings in Kraft Heinz were worth $882,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of KHC. New York Life Investment Management LLC boosted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 361 shares during the period. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC grew its holdings in Kraft Heinz by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 7,265 shares of the company’s stock worth $223,000 after acquiring an additional 366 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Kraft Heinz by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 35,735 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,097,000 after purchasing an additional 370 shares during the last quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Kraft Heinz by 20.1% in the fourth quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,274 shares of the company’s stock worth $70,000 after buying an additional 380 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cohen Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 487 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.17% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on KHC shares. Barclays cut their price objective on Kraft Heinz from $33.00 to $29.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. Bank of America downgraded shares of Kraft Heinz from a “buy” rating to an “underperform” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $36.00 to $30.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective 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. Evercore ISI restated an “in-line” rating and issued a $35.00 target price (down previously from $38.00) on shares of Kraft Heinz in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Kraft Heinz from $31.00 to $30.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $30.67.

Kraft Heinz Stock Down 3.7 %

Shares of Kraft Heinz stock opened at $29.68 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $30.09 and a 200-day simple moving average of $31.51. The Kraft Heinz Company has a 52-week low of $27.25 and a 52-week high of $38.96. The firm has a market cap of $35.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.13, a P/E/G ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 0.59.

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

Kraft Heinz Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.39%. Kraft Heinz’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 70.80%.

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.