XTX Topco Ltd Takes $4.02 Million Position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 65,700 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,018,000. Kroger comprises about 0.3% of XTX Topco Ltd's portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest holding.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Strategies Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Kroger in the 4th quarter worth $788,000. Mariner LLC raised its stake in Kroger by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 128,100 shares of the company's stock worth $7,833,000 after buying an additional 4,140 shares in the last quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in Kroger in the fourth quarter worth about $963,000. Keystone Financial Group boosted its position in Kroger by 24.4% during the 4th quarter. Keystone Financial Group now owns 11,098 shares of the company's stock valued at $688,000 after acquiring an additional 2,177 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Savvy Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Kroger during the 4th quarter worth approximately $522,000. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on KR. Melius Research lowered Kroger from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $70.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $73.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com cut Kroger from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $66.50.

Kroger Stock Performance

KR traded up $2.29 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $71.30. 11,454,556 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,412,355. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The company's 50-day moving average is $66.02 and its 200 day moving average is $61.66. The Kroger Co. has a 52 week low of $49.04 and a 52 week high of $71.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.12 billion, a PE ratio of 18.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.60.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last posted its 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 return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. The company had revenue of $34.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.96 billion. On average, research analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Kroger's payout ratio is 34.88%.

Insider Activity at Kroger

In other Kroger news, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 28,105 shares of the company's 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 52,861 shares in the company, valued at $3,521,599.82. This represents a 34.71 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Carin L. Fike sold 5,541 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.79, for a total transaction of $392,247.39. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 3,480 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $246,349.20. This represents a 61.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 290,056 shares of company stock worth $19,637,066. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

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.