Sterling Capital Management LLC Increases Stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 86.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 91,310 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 42,243 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC's holdings in Kroger were worth $5,584,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Kroger by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 82,223,697 shares of the company's stock worth $5,027,979,000 after buying an additional 773,182 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Kroger by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 16,436,688 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,002,479,000 after buying an additional 416,962 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at about $598,390,000. FMR LLC lifted its position in Kroger by 39.1% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,054,824 shares of the company's stock worth $431,402,000 after buying an additional 1,981,259 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in Kroger by 0.6% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,164,855 shares of the company's stock valued at $353,246,000 after acquiring an additional 37,222 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $70.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Guggenheim increased their price objective on shares of Kroger from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Kroger from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Roth Capital set a $58.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Kroger presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $66.50.

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Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 28,105 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.62, for a total transaction of $1,872,355.10. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Yael Cosset sold 115,149 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 139,338 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,486,131.04. The trade was a 45.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 258,785 shares of company stock valued at $17,476,866 in the last quarter. Insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Kroger Price Performance

KR stock traded down $0.94 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $68.14. The company's stock had a trading volume of 8,990,793 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,381,488. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The company's 50 day moving average is $65.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $61.46. The Kroger Co. has a fifty-two week low of $49.04 and a fifty-two week high of $71.93. The stock has a market cap of $45.03 billion, a PE ratio of 18.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.60.

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, 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. Equities research analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.88%. Kroger's dividend payout ratio is currently 34.88%.

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.