Candriam S.C.A. Sells 1,645 Shares of The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC)

Candriam S.C.A. trimmed its holdings in shares of The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) by 1.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 87,517 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,645 shares during the quarter. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in Kraft Heinz were worth $2,688,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Kraft Heinz by 14.4% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,097,084 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,519,000 after buying an additional 138,101 shares in the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of Kraft Heinz during the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Assetmark Inc. boosted its position in shares of Kraft Heinz by 1.1% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 97,462 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,422,000 after buying an additional 1,070 shares during the period. First Personal Financial Services boosted its position in shares of Kraft Heinz by 10.6% during the third quarter. First Personal Financial Services now owns 26,950 shares of the company’s stock valued at $946,000 after buying an additional 2,577 shares during the period. Finally, Atria Investments Inc boosted its position in shares of Kraft Heinz by 36.3% during the third quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 41,959 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,473,000 after buying an additional 11,185 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.17% of the company’s stock.

Kraft Heinz Stock Up 2.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ KHC opened at $32.18 on Monday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $29.85 and a 200-day simple moving average of $32.27. The company has a market capitalization of $38.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.24, a P/E/G ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The Kraft Heinz Company has a 1 year low of $27.25 and a 1 year high of $38.96.

Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.84 earnings per share 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%. On average, equities research analysts predict 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 issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.97%. Kraft Heinz’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 70.80%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on Kraft Heinz from $32.00 to $28.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Kraft Heinz from $32.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Bank of America lowered Kraft Heinz from a “buy” rating to an “underperform” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $36.00 to $30.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Mizuho lowered Kraft Heinz from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $38.00 to $31.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their price target on Kraft Heinz from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. 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.