Kentucky Retirement Systems Acquires 2,011 Shares of The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC)

Kentucky Retirement Systems grew its holdings in The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 61,489 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,011 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Kraft Heinz were worth $2,159,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Clifford Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Kraft Heinz by 21.4% during the 2nd quarter. Clifford Capital Partners LLC now owns 454,884 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,656,000 after purchasing an additional 80,101 shares in the last quarter. Easterly Investment Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Kraft Heinz by 39.4% in the 3rd quarter. Easterly Investment Partners LLC now owns 157,479 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,529,000 after buying an additional 44,485 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Kraft Heinz by 13.2% during the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 2,006,917 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,053,000 after acquiring an additional 234,783 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Kraft Heinz by 1,760.8% during the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 655,312 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,008,000 after acquiring an additional 620,096 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smith Thornton Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Kraft Heinz in the second quarter valued at about $654,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.17% of the company’s stock.

Kraft Heinz Stock Down 2.0 %

NASDAQ KHC opened at $31.14 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 1.06. The Kraft Heinz Company has a 52 week low of $30.40 and a 52 week high of $38.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.56 and a beta of 0.49. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $34.53 and a 200-day moving average of $34.42.

Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $6.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.42 billion. Kraft Heinz had a return on equity of 7.46% and a net margin of 5.24%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.72 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that The Kraft Heinz Company will post 3.01 EPS for the current year.

Kraft Heinz Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.14%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. Kraft Heinz’s payout ratio is 144.14%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KHC has been the subject of several analyst reports. Citigroup cut their target price on Kraft Heinz from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Kraft Heinz from $38.00 to $37.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Stifel Nicolaus cut shares of Kraft Heinz from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $40.00 to $38.00 in a research report on Friday, October 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of Kraft Heinz from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of Kraft Heinz from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the company from $39.00 to $35.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $37.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Pedro F. P. Navio sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.45, for a total value of $1,505,250.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 168,195 shares in the company, valued at $5,626,122.75. This trade represents a 21.11 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.