Geode Capital Management LLC Has $914.80 Million Holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 0.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,019,726 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 126,303 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC owned approximately 2.21% of Kroger worth $914,795,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp raised its stake in Kroger by 6.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 33,057,629 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,894,202,000 after acquiring an additional 2,110,681 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Kroger by 5.6% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 13,591,402 shares of the company’s stock valued at $678,562,000 after purchasing an additional 723,771 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its stake in Kroger by 13.4% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 7,759,992 shares of the company’s stock valued at $387,456,000 after purchasing an additional 917,923 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. grew its stake in shares of Kroger by 96.6% during the second quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 5,381,311 shares of the company’s stock worth $268,689,000 after buying an additional 2,643,811 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Kroger by 8.4% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 5,279,429 shares of the company’s stock worth $261,543,000 after buying an additional 407,690 shares in the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KR has been the topic of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Kroger from $58.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. BNP Paribas began coverage on Kroger in a research note on Friday, October 18th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Guggenheim upped their price target on shares of Kroger from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Kroger from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Kroger currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $63.67.

Insider Activity at Kroger

In related news, SVP Timothy A. Massa sold 25,889 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.12, for a total value of $1,556,446.68. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 115,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,965,563.32. This trade represents a 18.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.57, for a total value of $167,265.70. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 47,593 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,644,743.01. This represents a 5.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 58,821 shares of company stock valued at $3,445,490 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of Kroger stock opened at $61.32 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $57.90 and its 200 day moving average is $54.70. The Kroger Co. has a one year low of $43.51 and a one year high of $62.03. The firm has a market cap of $44.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.22, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.07.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $33.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.19 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.95 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.45 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were given a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.09%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.86%.

Kroger announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to buyback $7.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.