West Tower Group LLC Buys 6,000 Shares of The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC)

West Tower Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) by 80.0% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 13,500 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,000 shares during the period. West Tower Group LLC’s holdings in Kraft Heinz were worth $415,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KHC. Sawyer & Company Inc purchased a new stake in Kraft Heinz during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in Kraft Heinz by 191.0% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 969 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 636 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in Kraft Heinz during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in Kraft Heinz during the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Kennondale Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Kraft Heinz during the 4th quarter valued at $45,000. Institutional investors own 78.17% of the company’s stock.

Kraft Heinz Price Performance

Shares of Kraft Heinz stock opened at $30.39 on Wednesday. The Kraft Heinz Company has a one year low of $27.25 and a one year high of $38.96. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $29.89 and its 200 day moving average is $32.03. The stock has a market cap of $36.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.45, a P/E/G ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 1.06.

Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC) last announced 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 return on equity of 7.58% and a net margin of 10.62%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that The Kraft Heinz Company will post 2.68 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.26%. Kraft Heinz’s dividend payout ratio is presently 70.80%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KHC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Kraft Heinz from $32.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. UBS Group cut their target price on Kraft Heinz from $37.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Kraft Heinz from $32.00 to $31.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Evercore ISI restated an “in-line” rating and issued a $35.00 price target (down from $38.00) on shares of Kraft Heinz in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Kraft Heinz from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and thirteen have issued a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $30.86.

About Kraft Heinz

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.