Sterling Capital Management LLC Buys 42,243 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 86.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 91,310 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 42,243 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $5,584,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. raised its position in shares of Kroger by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 18,045 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,103,000 after buying an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC increased its stake in Kroger by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 6,704 shares of the company’s stock valued at $410,000 after acquiring an additional 159 shares during the period. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC raised its holdings in Kroger by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 7,834 shares of the company’s stock valued at $479,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Keybank National Association OH lifted its position in shares of Kroger by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 23,410 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,432,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the period. Finally, Valmark Advisers Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Kroger by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 4,260 shares of the company’s stock worth $260,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on KR shares. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $70.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Melius Research downgraded shares of Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Kroger from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Melius cut shares of Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $58.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Roth Capital set a $58.00 price objective on Kroger in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $66.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 28,105 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 52,861 shares in the company, valued at $3,521,599.82. This trade represents a 34.71 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 1,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.71, for a total value of $86,723.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 12,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $806,523.90. This represents a 9.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 258,785 shares of company stock valued at $17,476,866. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Kroger Trading Up 0.5 %

KR opened at $68.26 on Friday. The Kroger Co. has a 1-year low of $49.04 and a 1-year high of $71.93. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $65.68 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $61.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.11 billion, a PE ratio of 18.06, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.60. 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 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 firm had revenue of $34.31 billion during 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%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.88%. Kroger’s payout ratio is 34.88%.

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.