Plato Investment Management Ltd Acquires 17,029 Shares of The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC)

Plato Investment Management Ltd boosted its position in The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) by 933.1% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 18,854 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 17,029 shares during the period. Plato Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Kraft Heinz were worth $607,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. TCW Group Inc. bought a new stake in Kraft Heinz during the 4th quarter valued at $1,098,000. Shell Asset Management Co. boosted its position in shares of Kraft Heinz by 251.3% during the fourth quarter. Shell Asset Management Co. now owns 33,829 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,251,000 after buying an additional 24,199 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its position in Kraft Heinz by 120.8% in the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 137,353 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,079,000 after buying an additional 75,149 shares during the last quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP boosted its holdings in Kraft Heinz by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 1,661,700 shares of the company’s stock worth $61,450,000 after purchasing an additional 118,260 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Kraft Heinz by 13.2% during the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 2,006,917 shares of the company’s stock valued at $74,053,000 after acquiring an additional 234,783 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.17% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on shares of Kraft Heinz from $42.00 to $41.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 20th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Kraft Heinz from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Kraft Heinz from $42.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Kraft Heinz from $38.00 to $37.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on Kraft Heinz from $43.00 to $39.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $37.50.

Kraft Heinz Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:KHC opened at $35.59 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $34.49 and a 200 day moving average of $35.04. The Kraft Heinz Company has a 52-week low of $30.68 and a 52-week high of $38.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 1.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.03 billion, a PE ratio of 15.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 0.49.

Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $6.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.55 billion. Kraft Heinz had a return on equity of 7.38% and a net margin of 7.30%. The company’s revenue was down 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.79 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that The Kraft Heinz Company will post 3.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kraft Heinz Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Investors of record on Friday, August 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 30th. Kraft Heinz’s dividend payout ratio is currently 69.87%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Cory Onell sold 4,076 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.00, for a total transaction of $146,736.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 143,970 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,182,920. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

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.