Venturi Wealth Management LLC Grows Position in The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC)

Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) by 73.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,122 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,174 shares during the quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Kraft Heinz were worth $157,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its stake in Kraft Heinz by 249.5% in the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 741 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 529 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Kraft Heinz in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Sawyer & Company Inc purchased a new stake in Kraft Heinz in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in Kraft Heinz in the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC raised its stake in Kraft Heinz by 191.0% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 969 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 636 shares in the last quarter. 78.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on KHC. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target 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. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Kraft Heinz from $31.00 to $30.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. 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. Citigroup cut shares of Kraft Heinz from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $34.00 to $28.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, 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 research report on Thursday, February 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have given a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $30.86.

Kraft Heinz Stock Up 3.2 %

Shares of Kraft Heinz stock 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 52-week low of $27.25 and a 52-week high of $38.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.77, a P/E/G ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.47. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $29.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $32.54.

Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC) last announced 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 return on equity of 7.58% and a net margin of 10.62%. Equities research analysts forecast that The Kraft Heinz Company will post 2.68 EPS for the current year.

Kraft Heinz Announces Dividend

The firm 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 $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. Kraft Heinz’s payout ratio is 70.80%.

Kraft Heinz 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.