MML Investors Services LLC Sells 10,700 Shares of The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC)

MML Investors Services LLC cut its position in The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC - Free Report) by 7.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 130,992 shares of the company's stock after selling 10,700 shares during the quarter. MML Investors Services LLC's holdings in Kraft Heinz were worth $4,023,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Kraft Heinz by 19.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 90,508,763 shares of the company's stock worth $2,779,524,000 after purchasing an additional 14,996,486 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Kraft Heinz by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,745,734 shares of the company's stock worth $604,644,000 after buying an additional 595,406 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Kraft Heinz in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $324,857,000. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in shares of Kraft Heinz by 16.3% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 8,813,268 shares of the company's stock valued at $269,906,000 after buying an additional 1,238,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake 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 worth $200,369,000 after acquiring an additional 174,706 shares during the period. 78.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kraft Heinz Stock Performance

NASDAQ:KHC opened at $29.49 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $35.19 billion, a PE ratio of 13.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.44. The Kraft Heinz Company has a twelve month low of $27.25 and a twelve month high of $38.72. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $30.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $30.92.

Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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, analysts anticipate that The Kraft Heinz Company will post 2.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kraft Heinz Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KHC has been the subject of several research reports. UBS Group cut their price target on Kraft Heinz from $37.00 to $31.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Mizuho downgraded shares of Kraft Heinz from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $38.00 to $31.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on shares of Kraft Heinz from $35.00 to $31.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Kraft Heinz in a research report on Monday, March 24th. They set an "underweight" rating and a $29.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Citigroup reissued a "sell" rating and set a $27.00 price target (down from $28.00) on shares of Kraft Heinz in a report on Friday, April 4th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fourteen have issued a hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $30.69.

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.

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