29,604 Shares in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Purchased by Stevens Capital Management LP

Stevens Capital Management LP bought a new stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 29,604 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,810,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Kroger by 4.7% during the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 205,421 shares of the company's stock worth $11,771,000 after buying an additional 9,190 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Kroger by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,890,887 shares of the company's stock valued at $280,248,000 after purchasing an additional 53,006 shares in the last quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Kroger in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,260,000. Nwam LLC acquired a new position in Kroger in the third quarter worth $526,000. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Kroger by 32.3% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 287,033 shares of the company's stock worth $16,447,000 after purchasing an additional 70,009 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KR has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $73.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Kroger from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Kroger from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Roth Mkm upped their price objective on Kroger from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their target price on Kroger from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $66.88.

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Insider Activity at Kroger

In related news, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 28,105 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.62, for a total value of $1,872,355.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 52,861 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,521,599.82. This represents a 34.71 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 1,300 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.71, for a total value of $86,723.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 12,090 shares in the company, valued at $806,523.90. This represents a 9.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 223,244 shares of company stock worth $15,001,418. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Kroger Trading Up 0.2 %

NYSE KR traded up $0.13 during trading on Thursday, reaching $66.16. 5,275,822 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,863,065. The Kroger Co. has a fifty-two week low of $49.04 and a fifty-two week high of $68.51. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The firm has a market cap of $47.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.51. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $63.87 and its 200 day moving average price is $60.21.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $34.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.96 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 27.73%. Analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.93%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Kroger's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.88%.

Kroger declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to buyback $7.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

About Kroger

The Kroger Co operates as a food and drug retailer in the United States. The company operates combination food and drug stores, multi-department stores, marketplace stores, and price impact warehouses. Its combination food and drug stores offer natural food and organic sections, pharmacies, general merchandise, pet centers, fresh seafood, and organic produce; and multi-department stores provide apparel, home fashion and furnishings, outdoor living, electronics, automotive products, and toys.