ProShare Advisors LLC Acquires 6,518 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

ProShare Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 5.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 122,567 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 6,518 shares during the quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC's holdings in Kroger were worth $7,495,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Kroger Stock Down 1.5%

Shares of KR traded down $1.00 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $67.90. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,923,403 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,672,096. The Kroger Co. has a 1 year low of $49.04 and a 1 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. The company has a market cap of $44.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.62. The business has a fifty day moving average of $68.77 and a 200 day moving average of $64.05.

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

Kroger Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.89%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Kroger's dividend payout ratio is currently 34.88%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target 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. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on shares of Kroger from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. 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 research note on Tuesday. Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $73.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Kroger from $65.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $68.06.

Insider Activity at Kroger

In other Kroger news, EVP Christine S. Wheatley sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.07, for a total transaction of $2,162,100.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 97,737 shares in the company, valued at $7,043,905.59. This trade represents a 23.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 28,105 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 owns 52,861 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,521,599.82. The trade was a 34.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 334,923 shares of company stock valued at $22,867,124. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

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.