Advisory Services Network LLC Sells 15,058 Shares of The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC)

Advisory Services Network LLC lessened its holdings in shares of The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC - Free Report) by 35.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 27,885 shares of the company's stock after selling 15,058 shares during the period. Advisory Services Network LLC's holdings in Kraft Heinz were worth $856,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in KHC. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Kraft Heinz by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC now owns 30,344 shares of the company's stock valued at $932,000 after purchasing an additional 1,016 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its stake in shares of Kraft Heinz by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 227,130 shares of the company's stock worth $6,975,000 after acquiring an additional 5,125 shares during the period. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Kraft Heinz during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $118,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings in Kraft Heinz by 115.3% during the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,020,501 shares of the company's stock worth $31,339,000 after purchasing an additional 546,474 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wedbush Securities Inc. boosted its stake in Kraft Heinz by 52.1% during the 4th quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 28,719 shares of the company's stock valued at $882,000 after purchasing an additional 9,835 shares in the last quarter. 78.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Kraft Heinz from $32.00 to $31.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered 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 note on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com raised shares of Kraft Heinz from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Kraft Heinz in a research report on Monday, March 24th. They issued an "underweight" rating and a $29.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Bank of America downgraded Kraft Heinz from a "buy" rating to an "underperform" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $36.00 to $30.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have assigned a hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $30.67.

Kraft Heinz Stock Up 2.3 %

NASDAQ KHC traded up $0.65 during trading on Friday, reaching $29.46. The company's stock had a trading volume of 7,777,910 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,060,284. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $29.98 and a 200-day moving average price of $31.04. The Kraft Heinz Company has a 1-year low of $27.25 and a 1-year high of $38.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.16 billion, a PE ratio of 13.04, a PEG ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.84 earnings per share 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%. On average, research analysts forecast that The Kraft Heinz Company will post 2.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kraft Heinz Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.43%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. Kraft Heinz's payout ratio is 70.80%.

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.