Norges Bank Invests $324.86 Million in The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC)

Norges Bank acquired a new stake in The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 10,578,230 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $324,857,000. Norges Bank owned approximately 0.87% of Kraft Heinz at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of KHC. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in Kraft Heinz by 191.0% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 969 shares of the company's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 636 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in shares of Kraft Heinz by 9.4% during the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 544,638 shares of the company's stock worth $19,122,000 after purchasing an additional 46,740 shares in the last quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA increased its holdings in Kraft Heinz by 3.1% in the third quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 257,102 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,027,000 after buying an additional 7,761 shares during the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund raised its stake in Kraft Heinz by 106.2% in the third quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 229,844 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,070,000 after buying an additional 118,364 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CreativeOne Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Kraft Heinz during the 3rd quarter worth about $231,000. 78.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on KHC shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Kraft Heinz from $32.00 to $31.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Evercore ISI reissued an "in-line" rating and set a $35.00 price objective (down previously from $38.00) on shares of Kraft Heinz in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. TD Cowen lowered their target price on shares of Kraft Heinz from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Citigroup downgraded shares of Kraft Heinz from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their target price for the company from $34.00 to $28.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Bank of America cut shares of Kraft Heinz from a "buy" rating to an "underperform" rating and reduced their price target for the company from $36.00 to $30.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and thirteen have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $30.73.

Kraft Heinz Stock Performance

KHC traded up $0.93 on Thursday, hitting $31.06. 3,890,838 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,768,208. The Kraft Heinz Company has a 12-month low of $27.25 and a 12-month high of $38.96. The company has a 50 day moving average of $30.05 and a 200-day moving average of $31.60. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $37.07 billion, a PE ratio of 13.74, a PEG ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.44.

Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.06. Kraft Heinz had a return on equity of 7.58% and a net margin of 10.62%. 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 company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.15%. The ex-dividend date was 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.