United Services Automobile Association Purchases 1,681 Shares of The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC)

United Services Automobile Association raised its position in shares of The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) by 9.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 20,048 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,681 shares during the quarter. United Services Automobile Association’s holdings in Kraft Heinz were worth $616,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. purchased a new position in Kraft Heinz in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Kraft Heinz by 19.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 90,508,763 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,779,524,000 after purchasing an additional 14,996,486 shares during the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Kraft Heinz by 8.3% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 655,747 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,138,000 after purchasing an additional 50,040 shares in the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new stake in shares of Kraft Heinz during the fourth quarter valued at $9,755,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in Kraft Heinz by 29.0% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 922,109 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,318,000 after buying an additional 207,516 shares in the last quarter. 78.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kraft Heinz Price Performance

Shares of Kraft Heinz stock opened at $29.12 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $29.92 and a 200-day moving average price of $31.85. The Kraft Heinz Company has a one year low of $27.25 and a one year high of $38.96. The stock has a market cap of $34.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 1.06.

Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.84 earnings per share 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 analysts expect that The Kraft Heinz Company will post 2.68 EPS for the current year.

Kraft Heinz Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.49%. Kraft Heinz’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 70.80%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on KHC shares. TD Cowen lowered their target price 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. StockNews.com upgraded Kraft Heinz from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “in-line” rating and issued a $35.00 price objective (down previously from $38.00) on shares of Kraft Heinz in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on Kraft Heinz from $32.00 to $28.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced 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. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and thirteen have given a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $30.73.

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.