8,543 Shares in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Bought by Savvy Advisors Inc.

Savvy Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 8,543 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $522,000.

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

Kroger Trading Up 3.3 %

Shares of KR traded up $2.29 during trading on Friday, reaching $71.30. 11,454,556 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,422,777. 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 stock has a market cap of $47.12 billion, a PE ratio of 18.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.60. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $66.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $61.84. The Kroger Co. has a twelve month low of $49.04 and a twelve month high of $71.93.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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. On average, analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In related news, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 31,271 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.08, for a total transaction of $2,160,200.68. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 82,684 shares in the company, valued at $5,711,810.72. The trade was a 27.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 28,105 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 52,861 shares in the company, 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 290,056 shares of company stock valued at $19,637,066. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Citigroup increased their price objective on Kroger from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Roth Capital set a $58.00 target price on Kroger in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $70.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Kroger from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Kroger currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $66.50.

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.