Aufman Associates Inc Decreases Stake in The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC)

Aufman Associates Inc lessened its stake in shares of The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) by 5.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 37,571 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,155 shares during the period. Kraft Heinz makes up about 0.8% of Aufman Associates Inc’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Aufman Associates Inc’s holdings in Kraft Heinz were worth $1,154,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in KHC. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Kraft Heinz by 19.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 90,508,763 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,779,524,000 after purchasing an additional 14,996,486 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in Kraft Heinz by 16.7% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 44,400,402 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,558,898,000 after buying an additional 6,366,732 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Kraft Heinz by 11.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,150,328 shares of the company’s stock valued at $669,821,000 after acquiring an additional 1,944,019 shares during the period. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kraft Heinz in the 3rd quarter valued at $411,304,000. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Kraft Heinz in the fourth quarter worth $324,857,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.17% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on KHC. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Kraft Heinz from $32.00 to $31.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Kraft Heinz in a report on Monday, March 24th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $29.00 target price on the stock. Evercore ISI reissued an “in-line” rating and issued a $35.00 price target (down from $38.00) on shares of Kraft Heinz in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of Kraft Heinz from $32.00 to $28.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Kraft Heinz from $33.00 to $29.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and thirteen have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Kraft Heinz presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $30.73.

Kraft Heinz Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of Kraft Heinz stock opened at $30.24 on Friday. The Kraft Heinz Company has a twelve month low of $27.25 and a twelve month high of $38.96. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $29.99 and its 200 day moving average price is $31.74. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.14 billion, a PE ratio of 13.38, a P/E/G ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.40.

Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.84 earnings per share (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%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that The Kraft Heinz Company will post 2.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kraft Heinz Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.29%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. Kraft Heinz’s dividend payout ratio is currently 70.80%.

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.