World Investment Advisors Buys 16,644 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

World Investment Advisors raised its position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 168.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 26,528 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 16,644 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors’ holdings in Kroger were worth $1,622,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new position in shares of Kroger during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,113,000. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in Kroger by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,052,534 shares of the company’s stock worth $249,717,000 after buying an additional 148,221 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Kroger during the 3rd quarter worth $566,000. Avanza Fonder AB acquired a new position in Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at $4,210,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Kroger by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,164,855 shares of the company’s stock worth $353,246,000 after purchasing an additional 37,222 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 5,541 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.79, for a total value of $392,247.39. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 3,480 shares in the company, valued at $246,349.20. The trade was a 61.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 1,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.71, for a total transaction of $86,723.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 12,090 shares in the company, valued at $806,523.90. This trade represents a 9.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 228,785 shares of company stock valued at $15,393,666 over the last ninety days. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on KR shares. Bank of America boosted their price target on Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Kroger from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Roth Capital set a $58.00 target price on Kroger in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $73.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Kroger presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $66.50.

Kroger Stock Down 5.2 %

NYSE:KR opened at $67.05 on Friday. 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 Kroger Co. has a one year low of $49.04 and a one year high of $71.93. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $64.99 and its 200 day simple moving average is $60.83. The company has a market cap of $48.52 billion, a PE ratio of 17.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.60.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $34.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.96 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 27.73%. On average, research analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to buyback $7.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The business 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.91%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.88%.

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.