Kraft Heinz settles with the SEC

Article Excerpt

KRAFT HEINZ CO. $36 is a hold. The foodmaker (Nasdaq symbol KHC, Conservative-Growth Dividend Payer Portfolio; Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 1.2 billion; Market cap: $43.2 billion; Dividend yield: 4.4%; Dividend Sustainability Rating: Average; www.kraftheinzcompany.com) cut its quarterly dividend by 36.5% with the March 2019 payment, to $0.40 a share from $0.63. The new annual rate of $1.60 nonetheless yields a high 4.4%. That 2019 cut was due to declining sales of older brands as consumers continued their shift to healthier options. Kraft has agreed to pay a $62 million fine to settle allegations by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that it understated certain expenses and inflated its earnings between 2015 and 2018. While the settlement cuts Kraft’s risk, it continues to face a shareholder lawsuit over its past accounting practices. Kraft Heinz is still a hold. hold…