TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. Increases Stock Position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. boosted its stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 29.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 155,301 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 35,265 shares during the quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc.'s holdings in Kroger were worth $9,500,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger during the fourth quarter worth about $1,113,000. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in Kroger by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,052,534 shares of the company's stock worth $249,717,000 after buying an additional 148,221 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Kroger in the third quarter valued at approximately $566,000. Avanza Fonder AB acquired a new position in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $4,210,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Kroger by 0.6% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,164,855 shares of the company's stock worth $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.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Yael Cosset sold 115,149 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.08, for a total transaction of $7,839,343.92. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 139,338 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,486,131.04. This represents a 45.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Christine S. Wheatley sold 30,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.07, for a total transaction of $2,162,100.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 97,737 shares in the company, valued at $7,043,905.59. This represents a 23.49 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 334,923 shares of company stock valued at $22,867,124. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Kroger Price Performance

Shares of KR traded down $1.32 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $70.03. The company had a trading volume of 8,847,089 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,522,308. The Kroger Co. has a 1-year low of $49.04 and a 1-year high of $73.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.54. The company has a market capitalization of $46.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.60. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $66.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $62.21.

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

Kroger Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.83%. Kroger's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.88%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Melius Research downgraded Kroger from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $73.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Morgan Stanley raised their price target 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. 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 report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Kroger from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $66.50.

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.