The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) Shares Sold by D.A. Davidson & CO.

D.A. Davidson & CO. cut its stake in shares of The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) by 15.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 83,701 shares of the company’s stock after selling 14,809 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO.’s holdings in Kraft Heinz were worth $2,570,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in KHC. Sawyer & Company Inc acquired a new position in shares of Kraft Heinz during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its position in shares of Kraft Heinz by 249.5% in the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 741 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 529 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kraft Heinz in the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Kraft Heinz in the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Kraft Heinz by 191.0% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 969 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 636 shares in the last quarter. 78.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kraft Heinz Stock Up 3.2 %

KHC opened at $31.13 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 1.06. The Kraft Heinz Company has a 1 year low of $27.25 and a 1 year high of $38.96. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $29.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $32.56. The company has a market cap of $37.20 billion, a PE ratio of 13.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.47.

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

Kraft Heinz Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. Kraft Heinz’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 70.80%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of Kraft Heinz from $32.00 to $28.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of Kraft Heinz from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $39.00 to $35.00 in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Kraft Heinz from $32.00 to $31.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Citigroup lowered shares of Kraft Heinz from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $34.00 to $28.00 in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Bank of America lowered shares of Kraft Heinz from a “buy” rating to an “underperform” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $36.00 to $30.00 in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have given a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average 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.