Bridgewater Associates LP Has $14.53 Million Position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Bridgewater Associates LP reduced its holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 61.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 237,570 shares of the company's stock after selling 373,206 shares during the period. Bridgewater Associates LP's holdings in Kroger were worth $14,527,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Kroger Price Performance

KR traded up $2.29 during trading on Friday, hitting $71.30. 11,454,556 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,419,177. 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 Kroger Co. has a twelve month low of $49.04 and a twelve month high of $71.93. The company has a market cap of $47.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.86, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.60. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $66.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $61.76.

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

Kroger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 presently 34.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 31,271 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.08, for a total transaction of $2,160,200.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 82,684 shares in the company, valued at $5,711,810.72. This trade represents a 27.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Kenneth C. Kimball sold 11,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.37, for a total value of $719,070.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 127,106 shares in the company, valued at $8,308,919.22. The trade was a 7.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 290,056 shares of company stock worth $19,637,066 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on KR shares. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $73.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. StockNews.com lowered Kroger from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on shares of Kroger from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $70.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Kroger currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $66.50.

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.