Marshall Wace LLP Has $9.05 Million Stock Holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Marshall Wace LLP reduced its position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 63.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 147,944 shares of the company's stock after selling 261,397 shares during the quarter. Marshall Wace LLP's holdings in Kroger were worth $9,047,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Kroger by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 82,223,697 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,027,979,000 after buying an additional 773,182 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Kroger by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 16,436,688 shares of the company's stock worth $1,002,479,000 after acquiring an additional 416,962 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Kroger during the fourth quarter worth approximately $598,390,000. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Kroger by 39.1% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,054,824 shares of the company's stock worth $431,402,000 after purchasing an additional 1,981,259 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in Kroger by 0.6% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,164,855 shares of the company's stock valued at $353,246,000 after acquiring an additional 37,222 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company's stock.

Kroger Price Performance

Kroger stock traded down $1.32 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $70.03. The company's stock had a trading volume of 8,847,089 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,531,521. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $66.78 and its 200-day moving average price is $62.31. The company has a market capitalization of $46.28 billion, a PE ratio of 18.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The Kroger Co. has a 12 month low of $49.04 and a 12 month high of $73.63.

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

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.83%. Kroger's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.88%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Roth Capital set a $58.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Kroger from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Kroger from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Kroger from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $73.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $66.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 28,105 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.62, for a total transaction of $1,872,355.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 52,861 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,521,599.82. This represents a 34.71 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Yael Cosset sold 115,149 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.08, for a total value of $7,839,343.92. Following the completion of the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 334,923 shares of company stock worth $22,867,124. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Kroger

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.