The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Shares Purchased by US Bancorp DE

US Bancorp DE raised its stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 0.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 621,103 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,260 shares during the quarter. US Bancorp DE’s holdings in Kroger were worth $37,981,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Adirondack Trust Co. raised its position in shares of Kroger by 1,628.1% in the fourth quarter. Adirondack Trust Co. now owns 553 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 521 shares during the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of Kroger during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Kroger during the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,000. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kroger news, SVP Yael Cosset sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 10th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $8,444,361.80. The trade was a 12.15 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 16,932 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.44, for a total transaction of $1,040,302.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 53,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,304,366.08. The trade was a 23.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 195,448 shares of company stock worth $12,143,923 in the last 90 days. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Kroger Price Performance

Kroger stock opened at $64.81 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $62.08 and a 200-day moving average of $58.61. The Kroger Co. has a 52-week low of $48.21 and a 52-week high of $66.26. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $46.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.15, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.47.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $33.63 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.19 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.95 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current year.

Kroger declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 16.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.98%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.86%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on KR shares. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $54.00 to $73.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Kroger from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Telsey Advisory Group raised their price target on Kroger from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Roth Mkm lifted their price target on Kroger from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, 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. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Kroger currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $67.19.

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.