Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. Reduces Position in The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC)

Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. trimmed its position in shares of The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) by 2.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 43,783 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,079 shares during the period. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc.’s holdings in Kraft Heinz were worth $1,616,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. TCW Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Kraft Heinz in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,098,000. Shell Asset Management Co. lifted its position in 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 period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its holdings in shares of Kraft Heinz by 120.8% during 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 in the last quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP increased its stake in shares of Kraft Heinz by 7.7% in the 4th quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 1,661,700 shares of the company’s stock worth $61,450,000 after acquiring an additional 118,260 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GLOBALT Investments LLC GA purchased a new position in Kraft Heinz during the 4th quarter valued at about $7,743,000. 78.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Kraft Heinz Stock Performance

Shares of KHC stock traded up $0.47 on Wednesday, reaching $33.27. The stock had a trading volume of 3,478,786 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,871,630. The stock has a market cap of $40.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 1.09. The Kraft Heinz Company has a 1 year low of $30.68 and a 1 year high of $38.96. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $33.62 and a 200 day simple moving average of $35.49.

Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The company reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.01. Kraft Heinz had a return on equity of 7.41% and a net margin of 10.62%. The business had revenue of $6.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.43 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.68 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that The Kraft Heinz Company will post 3 EPS for the current year.

Kraft Heinz Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 6th were given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 6th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.81%. Kraft Heinz’s payout ratio is presently 69.87%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Lande Rashida La sold 10,140 shares of Kraft Heinz stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.95, for a total transaction of $364,533.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 158,266 shares in the company, valued at $5,689,662.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Kraft Heinz from $37.00 to $34.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Kraft Heinz from $42.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Citigroup dropped their target price on Kraft Heinz from $42.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Barclays reduced their price target on Kraft Heinz from $36.00 to $34.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of Kraft Heinz from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $38.83.

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.