Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 48.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,359,918 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,090,440 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 0.46% of Kroger worth $205,459,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.
Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of KR. Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new stake in Kroger during the fourth quarter worth $1,113,000. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in Kroger by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,052,534 shares of the company's stock valued at $249,717,000 after buying an additional 148,221 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger during the third quarter valued at about $566,000. Avanza Fonder AB purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $4,210,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 0.6% in the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company's stock.
Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger
In related news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 4,492 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.53, for a total value of $298,852.76. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 3,480 shares in the company, valued at $231,524.40. The trade was a 56.35 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 1,300 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.71, for a total value of $86,723.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 12,090 shares of the company's stock, valued at $806,523.90. The trade was a 9.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 223,244 shares of company stock worth $15,001,418. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.
Kroger Stock Up 4.9 %
Shares of NYSE:KR traded up $3.32 during trading on Thursday, hitting $70.59. 14,954,367 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,155,705. 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 firm's 50 day moving average price is $64.82 and its 200-day moving average price is $60.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.68, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.51. The Kroger Co. has a 12-month low of $49.04 and a 12-month high of $70.91.
Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last announced 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. Kroger had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 27.73%. The firm had revenue of $34.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $34.96 billion. On average, 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 stock buyback program on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to buyback $7.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 16.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.
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 given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Kroger's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.88%.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Roth Mkm boosted their target price on Kroger from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Kroger from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Citigroup raised 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. Guggenheim raised their price target on shares of Kroger from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Kroger from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $66.50.
Read Our Latest Stock Report on KR
Kroger Profile
(
Free Report)
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.
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