Vinva Investment Management Ltd Has $2.12 Million Position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Vinva Investment Management Ltd lifted its stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 11.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 34,593 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,684 shares during the quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Kroger were worth $2,118,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of KR. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Kroger during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. TCTC Holdings LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Adirondack Trust Co. grew its holdings in shares of Kroger by 1,628.1% in the 4th 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 period. Finally, Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on KR. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $73.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Kroger from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Kroger from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Kroger currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $66.88.

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:KR opened at $64.69 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $63.24 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $59.78. The Kroger Co. has a 12-month low of $49.04 and a 12-month high of $68.51. The firm has a market cap of $46.81 billion, a PE ratio of 17.11, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.96 billion. Equities research analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share 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 dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.98%. Kroger’s payout ratio is presently 34.88%.

Kroger announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Gabriel Arreaga sold 15,959 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.63, for a total transaction of $1,047,389.17. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 89,085 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,846,648.55. This represents a 15.19 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Yael Cosset sold 115,149 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.08, for a total transaction of $7,839,343.92. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 139,338 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,486,131.04. This trade represents a 45.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 212,244 shares of company stock worth $14,282,348 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

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.