Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC Buys New Holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC purchased a new stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 446,872 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $27,326,000. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC owned about 0.06% of Kroger at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Kroger by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 82,223,697 shares of the company's stock worth $5,027,979,000 after buying an additional 773,182 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Kroger by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 16,436,688 shares of the company's stock worth $1,002,479,000 after buying an additional 416,962 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Kroger by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 14,113,596 shares of the company's stock worth $863,060,000 after buying an additional 120,250 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Kroger in the 4th quarter worth about $598,390,000. Finally, FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Kroger by 39.1% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,054,824 shares of the company's stock worth $431,402,000 after acquiring an additional 1,981,259 shares during the period. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In other news, SVP Yael Cosset sold 115,149 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 139,338 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,486,131.04. This represents a 45.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Christine S. Wheatley sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.07, for a total value of $2,162,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 97,737 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,043,905.59. This represents a 23.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 334,923 shares of company stock valued at $22,867,124. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Kroger Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of KR stock traded up $0.28 during trading on Thursday, hitting $72.49. 2,149,794 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,022,045. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $67.16 and its 200 day simple moving average is $62.63. The Kroger Co. has a twelve month low of $49.04 and a twelve month high of $73.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.54.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.05. Kroger had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 27.73%. The business had revenue of $34.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.96 billion. As a group, analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Kroger's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.88%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Guggenheim increased their price objective on shares of Kroger from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $73.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Citigroup raised 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 target price on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Melius Research cut shares of Kroger from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $67.06.

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.