First Merchants Corp Buys 1,767 Shares of The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC)

First Merchants Corp boosted its stake in shares of The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) by 30.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,546 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,767 shares during the period. First Merchants Corp’s holdings in Kraft Heinz were worth $232,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. AMF Tjanstepension AB boosted its stake in shares of Kraft Heinz by 143.4% during the 3rd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 245,522 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,620,000 after acquiring an additional 144,646 shares during the last quarter. CX Institutional purchased a new position in shares of Kraft Heinz during the 3rd quarter worth $340,000. SPC Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Kraft Heinz by 6.3% during the 3rd quarter. SPC Financial Inc. now owns 13,835 shares of the company’s stock worth $486,000 after acquiring an additional 825 shares during the last quarter. Bfsg LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kraft Heinz during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,476,000. Finally, Bleakley Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of Kraft Heinz by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 18,870 shares of the company’s stock valued at $663,000 after purchasing an additional 758 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.17% of the company’s stock.

Kraft Heinz Stock Performance

Kraft Heinz stock opened at $28.92 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $29.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $32.77. The Kraft Heinz Company has a twelve month low of $27.25 and a twelve month high of $38.96. The company has a quick ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The company has a market cap of $34.97 billion, a PE ratio of 26.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.74 and a beta of 0.47.

Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.06. Kraft Heinz had a net margin of 5.24% and a return on equity of 7.46%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that The Kraft Heinz Company will post 3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kraft Heinz Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.53%. Kraft Heinz’s dividend payout ratio is presently 70.80%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of Kraft Heinz from $34.00 to $30.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of Kraft Heinz from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Evercore ISI restated an “in-line” rating and set a $35.00 price objective (down from $38.00) on shares of Kraft Heinz in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced 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. Finally, Mizuho downgraded shares of Kraft Heinz from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $38.00 to $31.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.