11,987 Shares in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Purchased by Clune & Associates LTD.

Clune & Associates LTD. purchased a new position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 11,987 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $733,000.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on KR shares. Guggenheim raised their price target on Kroger from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Kroger from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Kroger from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $73.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Kroger presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $66.88.

Remove Ads

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In other news, SVP Kenneth C. Kimball sold 11,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.37, for a total value of $719,070.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 127,106 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,308,919.22. The trade was a 7.96 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Yael Cosset sold 115,149 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.08, for a total transaction of $7,839,343.92. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 139,338 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,486,131.04. This trade represents a 45.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 223,244 shares of company stock valued at $15,001,418. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Kroger Stock Performance

NYSE KR traded up $0.63 on Friday, hitting $66.77. The stock had a trading volume of 6,363,572 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,089,087. The company's 50-day moving average is $64.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $60.31. The Kroger Co. has a one year low of $49.04 and a one year high of $68.51. The stock has a market cap of $48.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.96 billion. On average, analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The business 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 dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.92%. Kroger's payout ratio is 34.88%.

Kroger declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.