Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Purchases 34,002 Shares of The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund raised its stake in The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) by 6.2% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 580,526 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 34,002 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Kraft Heinz were worth $17,828,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in KHC. Sawyer & Company Inc bought a new stake in shares of Kraft Heinz in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its position in shares of Kraft Heinz by 249.5% during the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 741 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 529 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kraft Heinz during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of Kraft Heinz during the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.17% of the company’s stock.

Kraft Heinz Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:KHC opened at $31.36 on Tuesday. The Kraft Heinz Company has a 1 year low of $27.25 and a 1 year high of $38.96. The company has a market cap of $37.47 billion, a PE ratio of 13.88, a P/E/G ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.47. 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’s 50-day moving average is $29.74 and its 200 day moving average is $32.50.

Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 EPS for the current year.

Kraft Heinz Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.10%. Kraft Heinz’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 70.80%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Kraft Heinz from $31.00 to $30.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Citigroup lowered Kraft Heinz from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $34.00 to $28.00 in a report on Thursday, February 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on Kraft Heinz from $32.00 to $28.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Evercore ISI reissued an “in-line” rating and issued a $35.00 target price (down from $38.00) on shares of Kraft Heinz in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Kraft Heinz from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have issued a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.