Groupama Asset Managment Has $10.06 Million Stock Position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Groupama Asset Managment raised its holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 18.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 164,325 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 25,411 shares during the quarter. Groupama Asset Managment's holdings in Kroger were worth $10,062,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Remove Ads

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 28,105 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.62, for a total value of $1,872,355.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 52,861 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,521,599.82. This trade represents a 34.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 1,300 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.71, for a total value of $86,723.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 12,090 shares of the company's stock, valued at $806,523.90. This represents a 9.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 223,244 shares of company stock valued at $15,001,418. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on KR shares. Guggenheim upped their target price on Kroger from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. Roth Capital set a $58.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Roth Mkm lifted their target price on shares of Kroger from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Kroger from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kroger currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $66.50.

Kroger Price Performance

NYSE:KR traded up $3.32 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $70.59. The company's stock had a trading volume of 14,954,367 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,150,396. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average of $64.58 and a 200-day moving average of $60.65. The company has a market capitalization of $51.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.51. The Kroger Co. has a fifty-two week low of $49.04 and a fifty-two week high of $70.91.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 EPS 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 business had revenue of $34.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.96 billion. As a group, equities analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 16.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Kroger's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.