Argyle Capital Management LLC Acquires 8,940 Shares of The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC)

Argyle Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) by 59.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 23,940 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,940 shares during the period. Argyle Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Kraft Heinz were worth $735,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Generali Investments Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych grew its position in Kraft Heinz by 19.0% during the fourth quarter. Generali Investments Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych now owns 37,622 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,155,000 after buying an additional 6,000 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kraft Heinz during the 4th quarter worth $2,482,000. Kovack Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Kraft Heinz by 16.8% in the fourth quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. now owns 6,889 shares of the company’s stock worth $212,000 after purchasing an additional 990 shares during the period. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. increased its position in shares of Kraft Heinz by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. now owns 334,800 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,282,000 after purchasing an additional 5,600 shares during the period. Finally, New York Life Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Kraft Heinz by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 130,075 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,995,000 after purchasing an additional 361 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.17% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on KHC shares. TD Cowen reduced 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 note on Wednesday, January 8th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Kraft Heinz from $37.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Kraft Heinz from $32.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Kraft Heinz from $31.00 to $30.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Kraft Heinz from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have given a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Kraft Heinz currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $30.86.

Kraft Heinz Stock Performance

NASDAQ:KHC opened at $30.65 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $29.77 and its 200-day moving average is $32.45. The stock has a market cap of $36.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.47. 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 posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 anticipate that The Kraft Heinz Company will post 2.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Kraft Heinz Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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.