Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 6,883 Shares of The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC)

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its position in shares of The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) by 0.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,090,201 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,883 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.09% of Kraft Heinz worth $33,480,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KHC. Sawyer & Company Inc purchased a new stake in Kraft Heinz in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its position in Kraft Heinz by 249.5% in the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 741 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 529 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Kraft Heinz in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in Kraft Heinz in the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its position in Kraft Heinz by 191.0% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 969 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 636 shares during the period. 78.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Kraft Heinz Trading Up 3.2 %

NASDAQ KHC opened at $31.13 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The Kraft Heinz Company has a 52 week low of $27.25 and a 52 week high of $38.96. The firm has a market cap of $37.20 billion, a PE ratio of 13.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $29.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $32.56.

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

Kraft Heinz Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.14%. Kraft Heinz’s payout ratio is 70.80%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen lowered their price target on shares of Kraft Heinz from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Mizuho cut shares of Kraft Heinz from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $38.00 to $31.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Bank of America cut shares of Kraft Heinz from a “buy” rating to an “underperform” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $36.00 to $30.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Kraft Heinz from $32.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on shares of Kraft Heinz from $32.00 to $28.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $30.86.

About Kraft Heinz

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.