The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) Shares Sold by State of Wyoming

State of Wyoming lessened its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 80.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,318 shares of the company's stock after selling 5,331 shares during the quarter. State of Wyoming's holdings in Kroger were worth $81,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in KR. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. raised its stake in Kroger by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 18,045 shares of the company's stock worth $1,103,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares during the period. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC increased its holdings in shares of Kroger by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 6,704 shares of the company's stock worth $410,000 after buying an additional 159 shares during the last quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC raised its position in shares of Kroger by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 7,834 shares of the company's stock worth $479,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the period. Keybank National Association OH boosted its holdings in Kroger by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 23,410 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,432,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Valmark Advisers Inc. grew its position in Kroger by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 4,260 shares of the company's stock valued at $260,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 28,105 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.62, for a total value of $1,872,355.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 52,861 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,521,599.82. This trade represents a 34.71% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Christine S. Wheatley sold 30,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.44, for a total value of $2,083,200.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 127,737 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,870,057.28. This represents a 19.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 334,923 shares of company stock valued at $22,867,124 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

Kroger Stock Up 1.7%

Shares of NYSE KR traded up $1.15 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $68.10. 14,385,857 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,719,794. 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 52-week low of $49.04 and a 52-week high of $73.63. The business's fifty day moving average price is $69.06 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $64.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.01 billion, a PE ratio of 18.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.62.

Kroger (NYSE:KR - Get Free Report) last posted 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. The company had revenue of $34.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.96 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. Analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.88%. Kroger's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.88%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on KR. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $70.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Roth Capital set a $58.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Kroger from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Kroger from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $73.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Eight research 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. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $68.06.

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.