Toronto Dominion Bank Boosts Stock Holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its stake in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) by 1.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 359,121 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 4,911 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank's holdings in Kroger were worth $21,960,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KR. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. TCTC Holdings LLC bought a new position in shares of Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Transce3nd LLC bought a new stake in Kroger during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Kroger during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company's stock.

Kroger Trading Up 1.7%

Shares of NYSE:KR traded up $1.15 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $68.10. The company's stock had a trading volume of 14,385,857 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,703,552. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.02, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.62. 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 firm has a 50 day moving average price of $69.13 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $64.56. The Kroger Co. has a fifty-two week low of $49.04 and a fifty-two week high of $73.63.

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

Kroger Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Kroger's payout ratio is 34.88%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on KR. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $70.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Melius upgraded Kroger from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $70.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Kroger from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Kroger from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their target price on Kroger from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $68.06.

Insider Activity at Kroger

In other Kroger news, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 28,105 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 52,861 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,521,599.82. The trade was a 34.71% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Christine S. Wheatley sold 30,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.07, for a total value of $2,162,100.00. Following 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. Insiders sold 334,923 shares of company stock valued at $22,867,124 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

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.