The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) Shares Bought by MetLife Investment Management LLC

MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) by 1.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 233,737 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,126 shares during the quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Kraft Heinz were worth $7,178,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of KHC. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Kraft Heinz by 19.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 90,508,763 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,779,524,000 after purchasing an additional 14,996,486 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Kraft Heinz by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,745,734 shares of the company’s stock valued at $604,644,000 after purchasing an additional 595,406 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Kraft Heinz in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $324,857,000. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in shares of Kraft Heinz by 16.3% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 8,813,268 shares of the company’s stock worth $269,906,000 after buying an additional 1,238,200 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Kraft Heinz by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,525,110 shares of the company’s stock valued at $200,369,000 after buying an additional 174,706 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.17% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KHC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of Kraft Heinz from $32.00 to $28.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Kraft Heinz in a research note on Monday, March 24th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $29.00 price target on the stock. Evercore ISI reiterated an “in-line” rating and set a $35.00 price objective (down from $38.00) on shares of Kraft Heinz in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Bank of America cut 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. Finally, Mizuho cut Kraft Heinz from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $38.00 to $31.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fourteen have given a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $30.69.

Kraft Heinz Price Performance

Kraft Heinz stock opened at $30.20 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The stock has a market cap of $36.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.36, a PEG ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $30.02 and a 200 day moving average price of $31.00. The Kraft Heinz Company has a 12-month low of $27.25 and a 12-month high of $38.96.

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

Kraft Heinz Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. Kraft Heinz’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.