Howard Capital Management Inc. Has $955,000 Stock Holdings in The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC)

Howard Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) by 43.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 31,108 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,398 shares during the period. Howard Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Kraft Heinz were worth $955,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in KHC. Sawyer & Company Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Kraft Heinz during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its position in shares of Kraft Heinz by 249.5% during the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 741 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 529 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Kraft Heinz in the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in Kraft Heinz in the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 636 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.17% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KHC has been the topic of a number of research reports. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Kraft Heinz from $33.00 to $29.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Citigroup downgraded Kraft Heinz from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $34.00 to $28.00 in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Kraft Heinz from $31.00 to $30.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of Kraft Heinz from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $39.00 to $35.00 in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Kraft Heinz from $32.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $30.86.

Kraft Heinz Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:KHC opened at $31.13 on Monday. The Kraft Heinz Company has a fifty-two week low of $27.25 and a fifty-two week high of $38.96. The company’s 50-day moving average is $29.73 and its 200 day moving average is $32.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 1.06. The company has a market capitalization of $37.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.47.

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

Kraft Heinz Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.14%. 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.