Janus Henderson Group PLC Boosts Stake in The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC)

Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in shares of The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) by 1.9% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 107,417 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,023 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC’s holdings in Kraft Heinz were worth $3,299,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in KHC. Generali Investments Management Co LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kraft Heinz during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. bought a new stake in Kraft Heinz in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Kraft Heinz during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Kraft Heinz during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Kennondale Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Kraft Heinz during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Institutional investors own 78.17% of the company’s stock.

Kraft Heinz Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of KHC stock opened at $27.88 on Tuesday. The Kraft Heinz Company has a 1-year low of $27.14 and a 1-year high of $36.53. The company has a market cap of $33.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.34, a PEG ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.30. 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 stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $29.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of $30.11.

Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $6 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.02 billion. Kraft Heinz had a net margin of 10.62% and a return on equity of 7.58%. Kraft Heinz’s quarterly revenue was down 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.69 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that The Kraft Heinz Company will post 2.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kraft Heinz Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. Kraft Heinz’s dividend payout ratio is currently 73.06%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on KHC shares. Cfra Research lowered Kraft Heinz from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of Kraft Heinz from $34.00 to $30.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of Kraft Heinz from $35.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Kraft Heinz in a research report on Monday, March 24th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $29.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lowered Kraft Heinz from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $34.00 to $31.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $30.65.

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.