Fmr LLC Raises Stock Holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 39.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,054,824 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 1,981,259 shares during the period. FMR LLC owned about 0.97% of Kroger worth $431,402,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in Kroger during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Waterloo Capital L.P. grew its stake in shares of Kroger by 10.2% in the fourth quarter. Waterloo Capital L.P. now owns 9,256 shares of the company's stock worth $566,000 after purchasing an additional 857 shares during the last quarter. Mizuho Bank Ltd. acquired a new stake in Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at $86,000. Oarsman Capital Inc. raised its position in shares of Kroger by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Oarsman Capital Inc. now owns 40,574 shares of the company's stock worth $2,481,000 after acquiring an additional 2,169 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Kroger during the 4th quarter worth approximately $17,808,000. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Kroger Price Performance

NYSE:KR traded down $0.70 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $68.38. The stock had a trading volume of 2,706,924 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,352,679. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The Kroger Co. has a one year low of $49.04 and a one year high of $71.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $65.75 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $61.46.

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Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $34.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $34.96 billion. Research analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Kroger's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.88%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kroger news, SVP Yael Cosset sold 115,149 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.08, for a total value of $7,839,343.92. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 139,338 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,486,131.04. This trade represents a 45.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 28,105 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 trade represents a 34.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 258,785 shares of company stock valued at $17,476,866 over the last quarter. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on KR. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $70.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $73.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, March 3rd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Kroger from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price 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.