Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Purchases 11,999 Shares of The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its position in The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) by 6.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 199,276 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 11,999 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Kraft Heinz were worth $6,120,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Sawyer & Company Inc acquired a new position in shares of Kraft Heinz in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in Kraft Heinz during the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Kraft Heinz by 191.0% in the third 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. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of Kraft Heinz during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in Kraft Heinz in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.17% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on KHC. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Kraft Heinz from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Barclays decreased their price objective on Kraft Heinz from $33.00 to $29.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Bank of America cut Kraft Heinz from a “buy” rating to an “underperform” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $36.00 to $30.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Kraft Heinz from $32.00 to $31.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of Kraft Heinz from $34.00 to $30.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and thirteen have given a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $30.86.

Kraft Heinz Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ KHC opened at $30.30 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $29.88 and its 200-day moving average is $32.20. The firm has a market cap of $36.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.40. The Kraft Heinz Company has a 1-year low of $27.25 and a 1-year high of $38.96. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC) last announced its 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 net margin of 10.62% and a return on equity of 7.58%. Equities research analysts predict that The Kraft Heinz Company will post 2.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Kraft Heinz Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.28%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Kraft Heinz’s dividend payout ratio is currently 70.80%.

Kraft Heinz Company 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.