First National Bank of Hutchinson Boosts Position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

First National Bank of Hutchinson grew its stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 87.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 54,584 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 25,514 shares during the quarter. Kroger comprises about 2.0% of First National Bank of Hutchinson's portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. First National Bank of Hutchinson's holdings in Kroger were worth $3,338,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in Kroger during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. TCTC Holdings LLC bought a new position in shares of Kroger during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kroger during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Adirondack Trust Co. raised its stake in Kroger by 1,628.1% in the 4th quarter. Adirondack Trust Co. now owns 553 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 521 shares during the period. Finally, Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in Kroger during the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Kroger

In related news, SVP Yael Cosset sold 115,149 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 139,338 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,486,131.04. The trade was a 45.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 28,105 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.62, for a total transaction of $1,872,355.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 52,861 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,521,599.82. The trade was a 34.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 223,244 shares of company stock valued at $15,001,418 over the last ninety days. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

KR has been the topic of several research reports. Roth Capital set a $58.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Roth Mkm upped their price target on shares of Kroger from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Kroger from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. UBS Group upped their target price on Kroger from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Kroger from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Seven 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $66.88.

Kroger Price Performance

Kroger stock traded down $0.02 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $65.38. 4,800,423 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,852,796. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $63.37 and a two-hundred day moving average of $59.95. The company has a market cap of $47.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The Kroger Co. has a twelve month low of $49.04 and a twelve month high of $68.51.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.05. Kroger had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 27.73%. The business had revenue of $34.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $34.96 billion. Equities analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

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 given a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.96%. Kroger's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.