Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. Increases Stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. increased its stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 37.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 282,002 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 76,750 shares during the period. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P.'s holdings in Kroger were worth $17,241,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Kroger during the fourth quarter valued at about $598,390,000. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Kroger by 39.1% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,054,824 shares of the company's stock valued at $431,402,000 after purchasing an additional 1,981,259 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $68,581,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in Kroger by 48.0% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,359,918 shares of the company's stock worth $205,459,000 after buying an additional 1,090,440 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Kroger by 0.9% in 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In other news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 31,271 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.08, for a total transaction of $2,160,200.68. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 82,684 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,711,810.72. The trade was a 27.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, 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 trade represents a 34.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 290,056 shares of company stock valued at $19,637,066. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Kroger Price Performance

Shares of KR stock traded up $2.29 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $71.30. 11,454,556 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,412,355. The Kroger Co. has a 12-month low of $49.04 and a 12-month high of $71.93. The company has a market capitalization of $47.12 billion, a PE ratio of 18.86, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.60. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $66.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $61.66. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $34.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $34.96 billion. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Kroger's payout ratio is 34.88%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on KR shares. Citigroup lifted their price target on Kroger from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $70.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Kroger from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Guggenheim raised their price target on shares of Kroger from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Kroger from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $66.50.

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.