The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Shares Purchased by Wellington Management Group LLP

Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 26.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,451,923 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 722,135 shares during the quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP owned about 0.48% of Kroger worth $211,085,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. TCTC Holdings LLC purchased a new position in Kroger in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Kroger during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new stake in Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In related news, SVP Kenneth C. Kimball sold 11,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.37, for a total transaction of $719,070.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 127,106 shares in the company, valued at $8,308,919.22. This trade represents a 7.96 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 28,105 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.62, for a total value of $1,872,355.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 52,861 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,521,599.82. This represents a 34.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 258,785 shares of company stock worth $17,476,866 over the last three months. Insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

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Kroger Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:KR traded down $0.78 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $66.40. The stock had a trading volume of 11,601,708 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,227,639. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.60. The firm's 50 day moving average is $65.10 and its 200-day moving average is $60.96. The Kroger Co. has a 1 year low of $49.04 and a 1 year high of $71.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.54.

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

Kroger announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to buyback $7.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

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 issued a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Kroger's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.88%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on KR. Citigroup raised their price objective on Kroger from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Kroger from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Kroger from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted 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. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $70.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kroger presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus 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.