The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Shares Bought by Blair William & Co. IL

Blair William & Co. IL lifted its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 0.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 159,412 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 988 shares during the quarter. Blair William & Co. IL’s holdings in Kroger were worth $9,748,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Kroger by 11,570.7% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,729,788 shares of the company’s stock worth $156,417,000 after buying an additional 2,706,398 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Kroger by 6.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 33,057,629 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,894,202,000 after acquiring an additional 2,110,681 shares during the period. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec grew its position in Kroger by 110.5% in the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 3,574,651 shares of the company’s stock valued at $204,828,000 after acquiring an additional 1,876,397 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Kroger during the fourth quarter worth about $68,581,000. Finally, Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Kroger by 163.1% during the third quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 1,382,537 shares of the company’s stock worth $79,219,000 after purchasing an additional 857,008 shares in the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of KR stock opened at $66.77 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $64.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $60.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.54. The Kroger Co. has a 1 year low of $49.04 and a 1 year high of $68.51. The firm has a market cap of $48.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.66, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.51.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 EPS 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 analyst estimates of $34.96 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. Analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.92%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.88%.

Kroger declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to buyback $7.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 16.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Roth Mkm lifted their price objective on shares of Kroger from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. StockNews.com lowered Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $54.00 to $73.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Kroger from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $70.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $66.88.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Kroger news, SVP Kenneth C. Kimball sold 11,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.37, for a total transaction of $719,070.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 127,106 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,308,919.22. This trade represents a 7.96 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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 value of $7,839,343.92. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 139,338 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 223,244 shares of company stock valued at $15,001,418 over the last quarter. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.