The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Stock Holdings Increased by Capital Fund Management S.A.

Capital Fund Management S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 43.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 173,331 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 52,290 shares during the quarter. Capital Fund Management S.A.'s holdings in Kroger were worth $10,599,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KR. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Kroger by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 18,045 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,103,000 after buying an additional 154 shares during the period. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC raised its stake in shares of Kroger by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 6,704 shares of the company's stock valued at $410,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares during the period. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kroger by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 7,834 shares of the company's stock valued at $479,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the period. Keybank National Association OH increased its stake in Kroger by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 23,410 shares of the company's stock worth $1,432,000 after buying an additional 167 shares during the period. Finally, Valmark Advisers Inc. boosted its position in Kroger by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 4,260 shares of the company's stock valued at $260,000 after buying an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Insider Transactions at Kroger

In other Kroger news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 1,300 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Christine S. Wheatley sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.44, for a total value of $2,083,200.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 127,737 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,870,057.28. The trade was a 19.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 258,785 shares of company stock valued at $17,476,866. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KR has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Roth Capital set a $58.00 price objective on Kroger in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. 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. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $73.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Kroger from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Kroger presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $66.50.

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of Kroger stock traded down $0.94 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $68.14. 8,990,793 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,381,488. The stock has a market cap of $45.03 billion, a PE ratio of 18.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.60. The stock's fifty day moving average is $65.75 and its 200 day moving average is $61.46. The Kroger Co. has a 12 month low of $49.04 and a 12 month high of $71.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.54.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $34.31 billion for 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. 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 1.88%. Kroger's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.88%.

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.