Woodline Partners LP Makes New $2.44 Million Investment in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Woodline Partners LP bought a new position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 39,973 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,444,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Kroger during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $598,390,000. Steadfast Capital Management LP bought a new position in Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at about $277,989,000. Junto Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $264,207,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. bought a new stake in Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at $123,829,000. Finally, FMR LLC raised its stake in Kroger by 39.1% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,054,824 shares of the company's stock worth $431,402,000 after purchasing an additional 1,981,259 shares in the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kroger Stock Down 0.3%

KR stock traded down $0.18 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $67.65. 5,942,163 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,669,561. The Kroger Co. has a 52 week low of $49.04 and a 52 week high of $73.63. The company has a market cap of $44.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.62. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $68.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $64.36. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The firm 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. 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 1.89%. Kroger's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In other Kroger 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 transaction 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 28,105 shares of Kroger 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 transaction, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 334,923 shares of company stock worth $22,867,124 in the last quarter. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on KR. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Kroger from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Kroger from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Kroger from $65.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $73.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $70.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kroger has an average 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.