Verdence Capital Advisors LLC Sells 32,958 Shares of The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC)

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC trimmed its position in The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) by 71.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 13,079 shares of the company’s stock after selling 32,958 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Kraft Heinz were worth $402,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in KHC. Sawyer & Company Inc bought a new stake in shares of Kraft Heinz during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Kraft Heinz during the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in Kraft Heinz during the third quarter worth $33,000. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Kraft Heinz by 191.0% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 969 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 636 shares in the last quarter. Finally, R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Kraft Heinz during the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. 78.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI restated an “in-line” rating and issued a $35.00 target price (down previously from $38.00) on shares of Kraft Heinz in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Kraft Heinz from $32.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Citigroup cut Kraft Heinz from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the company from $34.00 to $28.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Kraft Heinz from $32.00 to $31.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of Kraft Heinz from $32.00 to $28.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have issued a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $30.86.

Kraft Heinz Stock Performance

NASDAQ KHC opened at $31.28 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $37.38 billion, a PE ratio of 13.84, 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. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $29.82 and a 200 day simple moving average of $32.33.

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, topping the consensus estimate 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, research analysts predict that The Kraft Heinz Company will post 2.68 EPS for the current year.

Kraft Heinz Dividend Announcement

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 given 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 dividend yield of 5.12%. Kraft Heinz’s dividend payout ratio is presently 70.80%.

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.