California Public Employees Retirement System Sells 108,389 Shares of The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC)

California Public Employees Retirement System lessened its position in The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) by 2.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,943,446 shares of the company’s stock after selling 108,389 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System owned 0.40% of Kraft Heinz worth $182,809,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in Kraft Heinz during the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Riverview Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Kraft Heinz during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Kraft Heinz during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kraft Heinz during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Headinvest LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kraft Heinz during the third quarter valued at approximately $38,000. 78.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kraft Heinz Stock Down 0.2 %

NASDAQ:KHC traded down $0.08 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $38.07. 941,757 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,028,043. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.99. The Kraft Heinz Company has a 12-month low of $30.68 and a 12-month high of $41.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.28 billion, a PE ratio of 16.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.67. The business has a 50-day moving average of $35.94 and a two-hundred day moving average of $35.44.

Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 14th. The company reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $6.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.99 billion. Kraft Heinz had a net margin of 10.72% and a return on equity of 7.42%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.85 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that The Kraft Heinz Company will post 3.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kraft Heinz Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 8th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.20%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. Kraft Heinz’s payout ratio is 69.26%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on KHC shares. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Kraft Heinz from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Kraft Heinz from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Kraft Heinz in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $43.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of Kraft Heinz from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $40.57.

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.