Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Boosts Stock Holdings in Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC)

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its stake in shares of Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) by 1.4% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 116,732 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,625 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in Kraft Heinz were worth $3,552,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of KHC. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Kraft Heinz by 19.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 90,508,763 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,779,524,000 after buying an additional 14,996,486 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Kraft Heinz by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,745,734 shares of the company’s stock worth $604,644,000 after buying an additional 595,406 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Kraft Heinz during the 4th quarter worth $324,857,000. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Kraft Heinz by 12.6% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,289,691 shares of the company’s stock worth $285,286,000 after buying an additional 1,039,885 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in Kraft Heinz by 23.4% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 8,585,167 shares of the company’s stock worth $263,650,000 after buying an additional 1,628,516 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.17% of the company’s stock.

Kraft Heinz Trading Down 1.6%

NASDAQ KHC opened at $26.63 on Friday. Kraft Heinz Company has a one year low of $25.44 and a one year high of $36.53. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $27.03 and a 200-day simple moving average of $28.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 1.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.52 billion, a PE ratio of 12.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.25.

Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $6 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.02 billion. Kraft Heinz had a net margin of 10.44% and a return on equity of 7.37%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.69 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Kraft Heinz Company will post 2.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Kraft Heinz Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.01%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 30th. Kraft Heinz’s payout ratio is 73.06%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KHC has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Kraft Heinz from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered shares of Kraft Heinz from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $34.00 to $31.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Kraft Heinz in a report on Monday, March 24th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $29.00 price objective for the company. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Kraft Heinz from $31.00 to $30.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Mizuho set a $29.00 price objective on shares of Kraft Heinz and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have issued a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Kraft Heinz currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $30.47.

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.