Generali Asset Management SPA SGR Makes New $721,000 Investment in The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC)

Generali Asset Management SPA SGR bought a new stake in The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 23,484 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $721,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in KHC. Sawyer & Company Inc bought a new position in shares of Kraft Heinz in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its position in Kraft Heinz by 191.0% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 969 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 636 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in Kraft Heinz in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Kraft Heinz during the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Kennondale Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kraft Heinz during the 4th quarter worth $45,000. 78.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kraft Heinz Price Performance

KHC stock opened at $29.71 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $29.90 and a 200-day moving average of $32.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $35.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.40. The Kraft Heinz Company has a 12 month low of $27.25 and a 12 month high of $38.96. 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) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that The Kraft Heinz Company will post 2.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kraft Heinz Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.39%. Kraft Heinz’s payout ratio is currently 70.80%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on KHC shares. Bank of America downgraded shares of Kraft Heinz from a “buy” rating to an “underperform” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $36.00 to $30.00 in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Kraft Heinz from $31.00 to $30.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Citigroup downgraded Kraft Heinz from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $34.00 to $28.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Mizuho downgraded Kraft Heinz from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $38.00 to $31.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Kraft Heinz from $34.00 to $30.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and thirteen have issued a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $30.86.

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.