13,600 Shares in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Purchased by Aurdan Capital Management LLC

Aurdan Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 13,600 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $832,000.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in KR. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new position in Kroger during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kroger during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. TCTC Holdings LLC purchased a new position in Kroger during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new stake in Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company's stock.

Kroger Stock Performance

Kroger stock traded down $0.81 on Thursday, hitting $66.89. The company's stock had a trading volume of 7,305,476 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,678,001. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $69.03 and a 200-day moving average price of $64.38. The firm has a market cap of $44.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.62. The Kroger Co. has a one year low of $49.04 and a one year high of $73.63. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $34.96 billion. On average, equities analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

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 paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Kroger's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.88%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KR has been the topic of several research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $70.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Melius Research raised shares of Kroger from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped 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. Melius raised shares of Kroger from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $70.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Kroger from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $68.06.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 1,300 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.71, for a total transaction of $86,723.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 28,105 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were 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 owns 52,861 shares in the company, valued at $3,521,599.82. This represents a 34.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 334,923 shares of company stock valued at $22,867,124 over the last 90 days. 0.44% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.