Coordinated Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 4,605 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $282,000.
Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new stake in Kroger during the fourth quarter worth about $1,113,000. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in Kroger by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,052,534 shares of the company's stock worth $249,717,000 after buying an additional 148,221 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Kroger by 1.1% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,890,887 shares of the company's stock worth $280,248,000 after buying an additional 53,006 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 1.7% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 2,176,218 shares of the company's stock worth $124,697,000 after acquiring an additional 36,083 shares during the last quarter. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Kroger in the third quarter worth about $566,000. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Insider Transactions at Kroger
In other news, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 16,932 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.44, for a total transaction of $1,040,302.08. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 53,782 shares in the company, valued at $3,304,366.08. The trade was a 23.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Stuart Aitken sold 132,627 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.18, for a total value of $8,379,373.86. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 217,523 shares in the company, valued at $13,743,103.14. The trade was a 37.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 169,559 shares of company stock worth $10,587,476 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
KR has been the subject of a number of research reports. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Kroger from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Kroger from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $73.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. 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, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $67.50.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on Kroger
Kroger Price Performance
KR opened at $66.81 on Friday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $48.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.51. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $62.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $59.00. The Kroger Co. has a 1 year low of $49.04 and a 1 year high of $67.57.
Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $34.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.96 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 27.73%. As a group, analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Kroger announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.
Kroger Announces Dividend
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Kroger's payout ratio is 33.86%.
Kroger Profile
(
Free Report)
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.
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