Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super Makes New $12.15 Million Investment in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super purchased a new position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 198,666 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,148,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. TCTC Holdings LLC purchased a new position in Kroger during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new position in Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Kroger from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Roth Capital set a $58.00 price target on Kroger in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Melius lowered shares of Kroger from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $58.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $70.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Kroger from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $66.50.

Kroger Trading Up 3.3 %

Shares of Kroger stock traded up $2.29 on Friday, reaching $71.30. 11,454,556 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,412,355. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $66.02 and a 200-day moving average price of $61.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.60. The Kroger Co. has a fifty-two week low of $49.04 and a fifty-two week high of $71.93. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.05. Kroger had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 27.73%. The firm had revenue of $34.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $34.96 billion. On average, analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.80%. Kroger's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.88%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 1,300 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.71, for a total transaction of $86,723.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 12,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $806,523.90. This represents a 9.71 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Carin L. Fike sold 4,492 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.53, for a total value of $298,852.76. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 3,480 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $231,524.40. This trade represents a 56.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 290,056 shares of company stock worth $19,637,066 in the last three months. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.