McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. Takes Position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 649 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Kroger by 6.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 33,057,629 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,894,202,000 after buying an additional 2,110,681 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Kroger by 0.8% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 16,019,726 shares of the company’s stock valued at $914,795,000 after acquiring an additional 126,303 shares in the last quarter. 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 worth $353,246,000 after acquiring an additional 37,222 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Kroger by 1.1% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,890,887 shares of the company’s stock worth $280,248,000 after acquiring an additional 53,006 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in Kroger by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,052,534 shares of the company’s stock worth $249,717,000 after purchasing an additional 148,221 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating and set a $61.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on Kroger from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $70.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Kroger currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $67.00.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In other news, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 16,932 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.44, for a total value of $1,040,302.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 53,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,304,366.08. This represents a 23.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Yael Cosset sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.39, for a total value of $1,167,800.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 144,620 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,444,361.80. This trade represents a 12.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 195,448 shares of company stock worth $12,143,923. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of Kroger stock opened at $65.82 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $61.03 and its 200 day moving average is $57.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.63 billion, a PE ratio of 17.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.47. The Kroger Co. has a 1 year low of $45.17 and a 1 year high of $65.83. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.01. Kroger had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 27.73%. The firm had revenue of $33.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.19 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.95 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.94%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.86%.

Kroger declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to buyback $7.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Kroger Company 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.