FORA Capital LLC Purchases Shares of 6,759 The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

FORA Capital LLC acquired a new stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 6,759 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $413,000.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Kroger during the 4th quarter worth about $598,390,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Kroger during the 4th quarter worth about $123,829,000. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 39.1% during 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. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 1,045.0% during the 4th quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 1,562,600 shares of the company's stock worth $95,553,000 after acquiring an additional 1,426,131 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Kroger during the 4th quarter worth about $68,581,000. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In related news, EVP Christine S. Wheatley sold 30,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 28,105 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.62, for a total transaction of $1,872,355.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 52,861 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,521,599.82. The trade was a 34.71% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 334,923 shares of company stock worth $22,867,124. Insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Kroger Stock Performance

KR stock traded down $1.54 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $67.50. 9,421,889 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,671,591. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The Kroger Co. has a 52 week low of $49.04 and a 52 week high of $73.63. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $68.51 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $63.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.62.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $34.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.90%. Kroger's dividend payout ratio is currently 34.88%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on KR. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $70.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Kroger from $72.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Kroger from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Melius Research downgraded shares of Kroger from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Kroger from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $67.06.

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.