Callan Family Office LLC Takes $2.86 Million Position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Callan Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 46,752 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,859,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of KR. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC grew its position in Kroger by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 6,704 shares of the company's stock valued at $410,000 after acquiring an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. Keybank National Association OH lifted its stake in Kroger by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 23,410 shares of the company's stock worth $1,432,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. lifted its stake in Kroger by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 4,260 shares of the company's stock worth $260,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Nexus Investment Management ULC lifted its stake in Kroger by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Nexus Investment Management ULC now owns 48,115 shares of the company's stock worth $2,942,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. lifted its stake in Kroger by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. now owns 4,539 shares of the company's stock worth $278,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Kroger news, SVP Yael Cosset sold 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.39, for a total value of $1,167,800.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 144,620 shares in the company, valued at $8,444,361.80. This represents a 12.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Stuart Aitken sold 132,627 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.18, for a total value of $8,379,373.86. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 217,523 shares in the company, valued at $13,743,103.14. This trade represents a 37.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 169,559 shares of company stock worth $10,587,476. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Remove Ads

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Kroger from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the company from $54.00 to $73.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Kroger from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Kroger from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Roth Mkm lifted their price target on Kroger from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $70.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $67.50.

Kroger Stock Up 4.7 %

Shares of Kroger stock traded up $3.03 during trading on Friday, hitting $66.81. 10,791,860 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,868,815. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $62.27 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $59.00. The Kroger Co. has a twelve month low of $49.04 and a twelve month high of $67.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.54. The stock has a market cap of $48.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.67, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.51.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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 return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. The firm had revenue of $34.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.96 billion. Equities research analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.92%. Kroger's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.86%.

Kroger 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.