Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Sells 3,322 Shares of The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lowered its stake in shares of The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) by 6.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 47,459 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,322 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Kraft Heinz were worth $1,457,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. New York Life Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Kraft Heinz by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 130,075 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,995,000 after purchasing an additional 361 shares during the last quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC boosted its position in Kraft Heinz by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 7,265 shares of the company’s stock worth $223,000 after purchasing an additional 366 shares during the last quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in Kraft Heinz by 20.1% in the fourth quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,274 shares of the company’s stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 380 shares during the last quarter. Cohen Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Kraft Heinz by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Cohen Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,266 shares of the company’s stock worth $315,000 after purchasing an additional 487 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LMG Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in Kraft Heinz by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. LMG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 37,040 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,137,000 after purchasing an additional 498 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.17% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on KHC shares. UBS Group cut their price objective on Kraft Heinz from $37.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Kraft Heinz from $32.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on Kraft Heinz from $32.00 to $28.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Citigroup cut Kraft Heinz from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $34.00 to $28.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and thirteen have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $30.86.

Kraft Heinz Stock Performance

Shares of KHC opened at $29.52 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $29.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $31.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.40. 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 Kraft Heinz Company has a 52-week low of $27.25 and a 52-week high of $38.96.

Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.06. Kraft Heinz had a return on equity of 7.58% and a net margin of 10.62%. Research analysts forecast that The Kraft Heinz Company will post 2.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kraft Heinz Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.42%. Kraft Heinz’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.