Mizuho Securities USA LLC Has $3.86 Million Holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 46.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 63,084 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 20,024 shares during the quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC's holdings in Kroger were worth $3,858,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Kroger in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. TCTC Holdings LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kroger during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new position in Kroger during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Kroger from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Kroger from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Roth Capital set a $58.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Kroger from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the company from $54.00 to $73.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Seven research 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $66.88.

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Kroger Stock Up 0.2 %

Kroger stock traded up $0.13 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $66.16. The stock had a trading volume of 5,275,822 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,859,597. 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 market cap of $47.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.51. The Kroger Co. has a 12 month low of $49.04 and a 12 month high of $68.51. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $63.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $60.16.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 EPS 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 analysts' expectations of $34.96 billion. Research analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS 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 issued 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 1.93%. Kroger's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.88%.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Kenneth C. Kimball sold 11,000 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.37, for a total transaction of $719,070.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 127,106 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,308,919.22. The trade was a 7.96 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 28,105 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 52,861 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,521,599.82. This represents a 34.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 223,244 shares of company stock worth $15,001,418. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.