Swiss National Bank Reduces Holdings in The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC)

Swiss National Bank cut its stake in The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) by 5.2% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 2,561,742 shares of the company’s stock after selling 141,100 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Kraft Heinz were worth $78,671,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of KHC. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Kraft Heinz by 11.5% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,307,598 shares of the company’s stock valued at $186,350,000 after purchasing an additional 545,504 shares during the last quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise lifted its stake in Kraft Heinz by 52.5% in the third quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 170,511 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,988,000 after buying an additional 58,665 shares during the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management boosted its holdings in shares of Kraft Heinz by 229.8% in the fourth quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 342,880 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,530,000 after acquiring an additional 238,913 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank grew its position in shares of Kraft Heinz by 12.6% during the third quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 487,938 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,132,000 after acquiring an additional 54,656 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in shares of Kraft Heinz by 16.3% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 8,813,268 shares of the company’s stock valued at $269,906,000 after acquiring an additional 1,238,200 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.17% of the company’s stock.

Kraft Heinz Stock Performance

NASDAQ:KHC opened at $30.23 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $29.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $32.14. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The stock has a market cap of $36.12 billion, a PE ratio of 13.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.40. The Kraft Heinz Company has a fifty-two week low of $27.25 and a fifty-two week high of $38.96.

Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.06. Kraft Heinz had a net margin of 10.62% and a return on equity of 7.58%. Analysts expect that The Kraft Heinz Company will post 2.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kraft Heinz Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Kraft Heinz from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on Kraft Heinz from $35.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Kraft Heinz from $34.00 to $30.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Barclays lowered their target price on Kraft Heinz from $33.00 to $29.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Bank of America cut Kraft Heinz from a “buy” rating to an “underperform” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $36.00 to $30.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and thirteen have given a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Kraft Heinz presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.