American Century Companies Inc. Has $59.38 Million Stock Holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 8.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 971,022 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 74,781 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned approximately 0.13% of Kroger worth $59,378,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new stake in Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kroger during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. TCTC Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Kroger in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new position in Kroger during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company's stock.

Kroger Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of Kroger stock traded up $0.37 on Friday, hitting $66.51. The company had a trading volume of 2,019,851 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,077,950. The Kroger Co. has a twelve month low of $49.04 and a twelve month high of $68.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $63.87 and a 200-day moving average of $60.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.51.

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Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $34.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $34.96 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. Research analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share 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 given a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.92%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Kroger's dividend payout ratio is presently 34.88%.

Kroger declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to buyback $7.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 16.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Kroger from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $54.00 to $73.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Guggenheim lifted their price target on shares of Kroger from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Kroger from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $70.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Seven investment 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 MarketBeat, Kroger currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $66.88.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Kroger news, SVP Gabriel Arreaga sold 15,959 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.63, for a total transaction of $1,047,389.17. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 89,085 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,846,648.55. This represents a 15.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Kenneth C. Kimball sold 11,000 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.37, for a total transaction of $719,070.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 127,106 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,308,919.22. This trade represents a 7.96 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 223,244 shares of company stock worth $15,001,418. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Kroger Company Profile

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.