Capital World Investors Purchases 2,825 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Capital World Investors grew its position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 0.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 11,180,717 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,825 shares during the quarter. Capital World Investors’ holdings in Kroger were worth $683,701,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of KR. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new position in Kroger in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. TCTC Holdings LLC acquired a new position in Kroger during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Kroger during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new stake in Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Kroger news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 1,300 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.71, for a total value of $86,723.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 12,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $806,523.90. The trade was a 9.71 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Kenneth C. Kimball sold 11,000 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.37, for a total value of $719,070.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 127,106 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,308,919.22. This represents a 7.96 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 290,056 shares of company stock valued at $19,637,066. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KR has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Kroger from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Kroger from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Citigroup upped their price target on Kroger from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Melius Research lowered Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Kroger from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $66.50.

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of Kroger stock opened at $71.30 on Friday. The Kroger Co. has a 12 month low of $49.04 and a 12 month high of $71.93. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The company has a market capitalization of $47.12 billion, a PE ratio of 18.86, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.60. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $66.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $61.80.

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

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The business 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 of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.80%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.